Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups.

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Description: About 13,800 results results (August 2017)
Source/publisher: Various sources via Youtube
Date of entry/update: 2017-08-21
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description: About 998 results (August 2017
Source/publisher: Various sources via Youtube
Date of entry/update: 2017-08-22
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description: List of published books and links to more than 20 online documents, mostly on the Mon, the Karen and internal displacement in Burma/Myanmar ....."Ashley South is an independent writer and consultant, specialising in humanitarian and political issues in Burma/Myanmar and Southeast Asia."
Source/publisher: Ashley South
Date of entry/update: 2009-01-24
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: The feature section on Burma includes 29 articles exploring the extent of the displacement crisis, factors affecting displaced people and the search for solutions. The issue also includes 19 articles on other aspects of forced migration..... Forced displacement of Burmese people, Inge Brees... Burma: in urgent need of change, Douglas Alexander... The international community's Responsibility to Protect, Kavita Shukla... . Landmines: reason for flight, obstacle to return, Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan.... Forced relocation in Burma's former capital, Donald M Seekins... Under attack: a way of life, David Eubank... State of terror: women at risk, The Karen Women's Organisation.... Carving out humanitarian space, Jean-Francois Durieux and Sivanka Dhanapala.... Defining "forced migration" in Burma, Ashley South and Andrew Bosson... Humanitarian aid to IDPs in Burma: activities and debates, Ashley South... Supporting IDP resistance strategies, Poe Shan K Phan and Stephen Hull... Responses to eastern Burma's chronic emergency, The Thailand Burma Border Consortium... Reproductive health in Burma: a priority for action, John Bercow... A sense of home in exile, Sandra Dudley... Technology in the borderlands, Rachel Sharples... Neglect of refugee participation, Marie Theres Benner, Aree Muangsookjarouen Egbert Sondorp and Joy Townsend... Community-based camp management, Sally Thompson.... Access to justice and the rule of law, Joel Harding, Shane Scanlon, Sean Lees, Carson Beker and Ai Li Lim... Invisible in Thailand: documenting the need for protection, Margaret Green, Karen Jacobsen and Sandee Pyne ... Burmese asylum seekers in Thailand: still nowhere to turn, Chen Chen Lee and Isla Glaister... Rohingyas and refugee status in Bangladesh, Pia Prytz Phiri... Without refuge: Chin refugees in India and Malaysia, Amy Alexander.... Migration and trafficking: putting human rights into action, Nikolas Win Myint... Asia's new boat people, Chris Lewa.... Myanmar's forgotten people, Nyi Nyi Kyaw... Difficult to remain: the impact of mass resettlement, Susan Banki and Hazel Lang.... Karen voices on resettlement, The Karen Women's Organisation, with Sarah Fuller and Eileen Pittaway... Educational change in a protracted refugee context, Marc van der Stouwe and Su-Ann Oh... . To Sheffield with love, Patricia Hynes and Yin Mon Thu... Additional resources.
Source/publisher: Forced Migration Review No. 30
2008-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2008-04-22
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English, Burmese (Arabic, French and Spanish versions are in preparation)
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Description: "... The Free Burma Rangers is an organization dedicated to freedom for the people of Burma. "De Oppresso Liber" is the motto of the Free Burma Rangers and we are dedicated in faith to the establishment of liberty, justice, equal rights and peace for all the people of Burma. The Free Burma Rangers support the restoration of democracy, ethnic rights and the implementation of the International Declaration of Human Rights in Burma. We stand with those who desire a nation where God's gifts of life, liberty, justice, pursuit of happiness and peace are ensured for all... MISSION: The mission of the Free Burma Rangers is to bring help, hope and love to the oppressed people of Burma. Its mission is also to help strengthen civil society, inspire and develop leadership that serves the people and act as a voice for the oppressed... ACTIONS: The Free Burma Rangers (FBR), conduct relief, advocacy, leadership development and unity missions among the people of Burma... Relief: ..."...FBR has issued some of the best documented reports on internal displacement/forced migration
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers
Date of entry/update: 2004-05-21
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: The Category Archive on BNN has only about 70 articles, but a Google site-specific search on Burmanet got several thousand (see Alternate URL))
Source/publisher: Burmanet News
Date of entry/update: 2016-06-04
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Highly recommended. Well-organised site. In "list of sources used" are most of the main reports from 1995 bearing on IDPs (though the reports from 1995 to 1997 are missing - temporarily, one hopes) and more Burma pages updated June 2001. Go to the home page for links on IDPs, including the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.
Source/publisher: IDMC
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Articles on this category from BurmaNet News (2004-2016)
Source/publisher: BurmaNet News
Date of entry/update: 2016-03-01
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: One major report, several shorter articles. " The repressive government of Burma has caused hundreds of thousands of people, mainly members of minority ethnic groups, to flee to Thailand, Bangladesh and other countries in search of safety."
Source/publisher: Refugees International
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-29
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: A Search engine. UNHCR Documentation Centre?s website. Lots of refugee and other documents.
Date of entry/update: 2010-11-29
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description: Reports from various NGOs, think-tanks and UN agencies
Source/publisher: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
Date of entry/update: 2012-07-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Source/publisher: The Border Consortium
Date of entry/update: 2008-10-25
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Some reports and articles on Burma
Source/publisher: US Committee for Refugees (USCR)
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: "... Paletwa, MYANMAR – Following persistent efforts, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has successfully obtained access and delivered food to people affected by ongoing armed conflict in Samee Town of Paletwa Township in Chin State. “Thanks to the support of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement and the Chin State Government, WFP food has reached communities in Samee,” said Stephen Anderson, WFP’s Country Director in Myanmar. “Priority now is to provide lifesaving assistance to people affected by conflict in other parts of southern Chin State, including those in and around Paletwa Town. We continue to appeal to all parties to grant WFP and our partners access so that we can reach those who need our support.”.."
Source/publisher: World Food Program
2020-04-03
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-04
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
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Description: "WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: In the South-East, the number of IDPs slightly increased from 695,400 last week to 701,000 this week. In Kayah State, due to intensified fighting, including airstrikes and shelling, some 560 IDPs from Loikaw Town have been displaced to Hpruso and Loikaw Townships, while 170 IDPs returned to their place of origin in Demoso Township. In Shan State (South), 75 IDPs from Loikaw Township (in Kayah State) were forced to flee to Pekon Township, due to escalation of violence in Loikaw Town. In the Tanintharyi Region, due to increased fighting, some 5,070 IDPs from Thayetchaung Township have been displaced within the same Township..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva)
2024-02-01
Date of entry/update: 2024-02-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 3.72 MB
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Description: "WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS In the South-East, the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) has slightly increased from 690,300 last week to 695,400 this week. Due to intensified fighting, including airstrikes, 3,200 IDPs from Kyaukkyi Township were displaced to Phyu town, Phyu Township in Bago Region (East). In Kayin State, 530 IDPs from Kawkareik Township were displaced to the jungle near their village within the same Township due to indiscriminate shelling. In Tanintharyi Region, 1,400 IDPs from Tanintharyi Township were displaced within their Township..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2024-01-19
Date of entry/update: 2024-01-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 3.71 MB
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Description: "In Rakhine State, 157,169 individuals have been displaced across 12 townships due to the ongoing AA-Tatmadaw conflict that started in 2019. Additionally, 10,331 individuals have been displaced in Paletwa township in Chin State, bringing the total number of displaced persons to 167,500. Out of them, 118,786 individuals are newly displaced since the escalation of armed conflict on 13 November as of 25 December. In collaboration with partners and other UN agencies, UNHCR is responding to the humanitarian needs and continues to provide assistance to affected communities. Since January 2023, UNHCR has provided core relief items, emergency shelter support, dignity kits and cloth masks to some 51,619 individuals in Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun, Myebon, Sittwe, Pauktaw, Paletwa, Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2024-01-02
Date of entry/update: 2024-01-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 9.11 MB 10.15 MB
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Description: "WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: In the South-East, the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) has significantly increased from 677,600 last week to 681,200 this week. In Bago Region (East), due to intensified fighting, 1,660 IDPs from Htantabin Township were displaced to Taungoo Township, 1,265 IDPs from Phyu Township were displaced to Kyauktaga Township, while 3,328 IDPs from Kyauktaga Township were displaced within their Township. In Kayin State, similarly 360 IDPs from Kawkareik Township were displaced to Hpa-An Township. In Mon State, 968 IDPs from Thaton Township were displaced as a secondary displacement within their Township due to artillery shelling. In Tanintharyi Region, 625 IDPs from Yebyu Township and 5,200 IDPs from Tanintharyi Township were displaced within their Townships. It was observed that 6,245 IDPs from Yebyu Township returned to their places of origin within the same Township. Similarly, 2,135 IDPs from Tanintharyi Township, 284 IDPs from Launglon Township, and 148 IDPs from Dawei Township also returned to their respective places of origin within the same Township..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2023-12-29
Date of entry/update: 2023-12-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 3.72 MB
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Sub-title: Abductions, Forced Recruitment Violate Laws of War
Description: "(Bangkok) – An ethnic armed group in northern Myanmar has abducted and forcibly recruited civilians fleeing fighting in Shan State, Human Rights Watch said today. Myanmar’s military also has a long record of using adults for forced labor and recruiting children, but getting recent information about unlawful practices in junta-controlled areas is difficult. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an ethnic Kokang armed group, should immediately end its abusive practices against civilians, and take all available measures to protect them during hostilities against Myanmar’s armed forces and pro-junta militias. “The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army is violating the laws of war by abducting and forcibly recruiting civilians, putting them at grave risk,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Civilians should be able to seek safety from fighting without fearing that the Myanmar military or ethnic armed groups will force them into their armies.” On October 27, 2023, the Three Brotherhood Alliance – a coalition of the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and Ta’ang National Liberation Army – began Operation 1027, an offensive targeting Myanmar military outposts in northern Shan State. The offensive triggered attacks by opposition armed groups elsewhere in the country. Since late October, fighting between opposition forces and the military has displaced more than 600,000 people, including almost 100,000 in Shan State. Tens of thousands have fled Laukkai, the capital of the Kokang Special Autonomous Zone in northern Shan State, in advance of an anticipated MNDAA assault on the town, which the group formerly controlled. Although the MNDAA assisted those fleeing by opening up previously closed forest roads, the armed unit also confiscated mobile phones and detained an unknown number of people as they left Laukkai, local media and witnesses said. On November 24, the MNDAA abducted seven men as they traveled from Laukkai to Chin Shwe Haw, near the Myanmar-China border. Relatives told the Shan News Herald that the men’s friends last saw them detained on the roadside just outside Chin Shwe Haw, before Alliance Army fighters took them away. The Shan News Herald reported that an MNDAA spokesperson said that Sai Ai Naw, 18; Maung Nyi Ka, 19; Sai Lianghan, 20; Sai Ilaw, 26; Maung Nor Goon, 26; Sai Aung Heng, 27, and a seventh, unnamed 20-year-old man would be assigned to military service. On November 25, a doctor who left Laukkai along the same route said he witnessed many young men pulled over and detained by MNDAA fighters outside Par Hsin Kyaw, a village between Laukkai and Chin Shwe Haw. “They [MNDAA fighters] were pulling over men who were on motorcycles in groups of twos and threes,” he said. They did not pull over couples, and I had one of the female nurses riding pillion, so we didn’t get stopped. But there were scores of young men pulled over and I saw them being rounded up. I was too afraid to stop and look but they were being gathered together and taken away somewhere.” On December 12, the parents of seven other young men who did not arrive home after fleeing Laukkai in late October issued a letter to the MNDAA, pleading for their release. The families wrote, in the letter obtained by Human Rights Watch, that they last saw their sons being led away by MNDAA fighters near Chin Shwe Haw. All those abducted were of Ta’ang ethnicity and came from Man Khite village, Namhsan township, in northern Shan State. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army operates in northern Shan State along the China-Myanmar border. It was founded as the Communist Party of Burma collapsed in 1989 and agreed to a ceasefire with the Myanmar military later that year. The ceasefire ended in 2009, when a military-aligned faction of the Alliance Army became the Kokang Border Guard Force and was put in charge of Laukkai, where illegal activity, most recently cyber scam centers, has thrived. The MNDAA has attempted multiple times to regain the territory, including Laukkai, that it lost in 2009. Some ethnic armed groups, including the MNDAA, impose quotas requiring villages or households to supply a recruit, who in some cases may be willing to serve. Myanmar’s military and pro-junta militias also use forced recruits, including children, to bolster their armed forces or for other roles such as porters, cooks, or cleaners. In a widely shared video dated December 5 that Human Rights Watch reviewed and verified, an MNDAA official in uniform warns families not to shirk their responsibilities and to ensure those recruited were at least 15 years old and younger than 50. “If [you don’t] have a boy … if you have a girl … if you have three [one must serve],” the official tells a crowd gathered at a monastery in Pang Hseng village, Monekoe township, in northern Shan State. “If you have five, two of them must serve. Got it? If you have five males at home, two of them must serve.” He continued: “So, if you’re thinking about not bringing your sons and daughters because you’re concerned, don’t do that. … One day when they come back because things are peaceful, we are going to collect household registrations and we will know that they did not serve, and we will arrest them for it.” Under international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, applicable to the non-international armed conflicts in Myanmar, warring parties are prohibited from arbitrarily depriving anyone of their liberty, including through abductions and forced recruitment. Parties must treat all civilians humanely; arbitrary deprivation of liberty is incompatible with this requirement. In September 2019, Myanmar ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, which obligates non-state armed forces not to, “under any circumstances, recruit or use in hostilities persons under the age of 18.” The 2019 Myanmar Child Rights Law also forbids recruiting anyone under 18 into the armed forces or non-state armed groups. In 2023, the United Nations secretary-general's annual report on children in armed conflict identified the Myanmar military as responsible for the majority of the cases the UN had verified as recruiting and using children the previous year. However, the report also named the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army as having recruited up to seven children and separately, abducting up to seven others. The UN special rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, has also received various reports that the Myanmar military’s recruitment and use of children has increased since the 2021 military coup. “Governments with any influence over opposition and ethnic armed groups in Myanmar should impress upon them that violations by the Myanmar armed forces never justifies abuses by their own forces,” Pearson said..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch (USA)
2023-12-21
Date of entry/update: 2023-12-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Theme: Camp Coordination and Camp Management..."
Source/publisher: CCCM Cluster, Shelter Cluster, UN High Commissioner for Refugees via Reliefweb (New York)
2023-12-20
Date of entry/update: 2023-12-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 2.15 MB
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Description: "Format: Map.....Theme: Shelter and Non-Food Items..."
Source/publisher: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2023-11-03
Date of entry/update: 2023-11-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 617.51 KB
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Description: "Security and Conflict Incidents   
Source/publisher: Center for Operational Analysis and Research, United Nations Office for Project Services
2023-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2023-10-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 1.82 MB
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Description: "At 04:00 on 27 October, an alliance of ethnic armed organisations launched coordinated attacks on various Myanmar miliary outposts in northern Shan State. Fighting is ongoing around Kyaukme, Laukkai, Lashio and Kunlong districts, and near the towns of Muse and Chinshwehaw. Between 4,100 and 10,000 people have been displaced. There are civilian casualties and reports of heavy shelling. The military authorities have closed the local Lashio airport and all access roads to the town have been blocked. This includes the border road to China and, according to certain reports, the road to Mandalay. DG ECHO partners in Lashio have so far reported their teams as safe, but it is too early to start the response due to the heavy ongoing fighting..."
Source/publisher: European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations
2023-10-30
Date of entry/update: 2023-10-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Insight Email No. 25 This Insight Email is published on October 16, 2023, as a translation of the original Burmese language version that ISP-Myanmar sent out to the ISP Gabyin members on October 13, 2023. In this week’s Insight Email No. 25, ISP-Myanmar focuses on the incident of the Mung Lai Hkyet explosion and what the consequences could be. In addition, it gives an analysis of “the Military’s Succession Crisis” and the widening generation gaps in military leadership. The bulletin also discusses the extreme weather and severe floods in Myanmar brought by El Niño at the beginning of the season: Bago City, for example, encountered the worst recorded incident of flooding in 60 years. Furthermore, a widespread trend of corruption is discussed, along with ISP-Myanmar’s socio-economic survey findings. Last, but not least, the ILO’s Commission of Inquiry report on Myanmar and the future consequences of it are examined......1.Huge Explosion in Mung Lai Hkyet IDP Camp A huge explosion occurred on the night of October 9 in Mung Lai Hkyet, a place close to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) headquarters on the China–Myanmar border. This is a region of plains between two mountain ranges: “hkyet” means “ravine” in the Kachin language and holds a shelter for many refugees. The bizarre explosion in Mung Lai Hkyet was so severe that a large earthen hole remained at ground zero. The whole Mung Lai Hkyet IDP camp was damaged, and at least 130 families of the 600 displaced persons it houses were evacuated in an emergency. Reports indicate that 29 people, including eleven children, were killed and that 57 others were injured in the explosion. There are controversies surrounding who committed the October 9 attack. A KIA spokesperson said it was presumably an artillery or drone attack by the State Administration Council(SAC) and is still investigating what type of weapon was used. The SAC’s spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, denied that the deed was committed by the SAC, and explained that it may have been an explosion of stored ammonium nitrate. The KIA rejected this statement.....The BBC Burmese news mentioned on October 10 that the destructive explosion in Mung Lai Hkyet caused all residents living within 300 meters to be killed and injured many outside the 300-meter area. The blast left a large hole in the ground and damaged buildings and vehicles in the surrounding area. The scene is likely to be mentioned as a discarded mine site, BBC reported. Mung Lai Hkyet turned into a bald mountain that seem like bulldozed by machines, causing a village to disappear overnight. The SAC’s military columns have been attacking KIA forces in Nam Sam Yang village for months since July. Concurrently with the Mung Lai Hkyet explosion, the SAC had fired on the area. On September 28, 2023, the SAC forces shelled places near Mung Lai Hkyet, killing one Arakan Army (AA) officer and injuring another ten. Reportedly, the shells were fired from Khara ridge, situated six miles distance from KIA HQ. Khara ridge was a former post of KIA base and the SAC force occupied in 2013. In another incident, on November 19, 2014, the military fired artillery on KIA’s officer training school, and 23 cadets of KIA’s allied forces were killed. In December 2016, the military shelled Mung Lai Hkyet village and at least 400 refugees were forced to flee. The consequences of the Mung Lai Hkyet incident may be enormous. Immediately, it will have an impact on the SAC’s preparations for the anniversary of the eight-year Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), which it is aiming to organize differently than in the past. The incident may have a moral and sentimental impact on invited guests of ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), leaders of political parties, and local and international guests. The incident may fuel distrust and escalate conflicts. If the SAC is sure they were not responsible for the incident, the parties can request an international investigation by China and ASEAN officials. The SAC mentioned that Chinese police are investigating the cause of the explosion while China’s foreign minister only stated that “China is paying close attention to the reports” and “calling on relevant parties to resolve disputes peacefully through dialogue and consultation, avoid escalation of the situation, and take concrete and effective measures to ensure security at the China–Myanmar border.”.....2.The Military’s Succession Crisis and Generation Gap Lt. Gen. Moe Myint Tun, a member of the State Administration Council (SAC), and Brig. Gen. Yan Naung Soe were convicted of many offenses, including high treason and corruption, and sentenced by court martial on October 10, 2023, to suffer transportation for a life sentence, equal to a 20-year term. Until this adjudication, Moe Myint Tun (DSA 30) took charge of the military as chief of staff and presumably, he gained favor with the commander-in-chief, Min Aung Hlaing. He was then poised to become Min’s successor. It is typical to deduce who is going along on the trips with the SAC head and who are among the top brass by observing the standing protocol in the official newspapers. Much like the synchronized retirements of Snr. Gen. Than Shwe and Deputy Snr. Gen. Maung Aye, if the current Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and Deputy Snr. Gen. Soe Win retire concurrently, Lt. Gen. Mya Tun Oo (DSA 25), who was serving as the chief of general staff for the army, navy, and air force, was once speculated to be the next commander-in-chief of Myanmar defense services. Reportedly, he was thought to be chosen by former junta leader Than Shwe. Nevertheless, since the 2021 military coup, he became minister of defense and was later transferred to deputy prime minister and minister of transport and communications, an apparent demotion. After the punishment of Moe Myint Tun, Lt. Gen. Mya Tun Oo was assigned to key positions as his replacement. But now he is turning 62 and is therefore less likely to lead the military as commander-in-chief. When Min Aung Hlaing (DSA 19) was selected for the commander-in-chief, he was a military cadet generation 18–19 years younger than his superiors, Snr. Gen. Than Shwe (OTS 9) and Deputy Snr. Gen. Maung Aye (DSA 1). For that reason, the next commander-in-chief could be chosen from the younger military generation from the Defense Service Academy (DSA), and may end up being someone such as the 30th-batch graduate, Lt. Gen. Moe Myint Tun. Moreover, it is generally thought that the new commander-in-chief should be in their 50s, as he would be able to serve under two terms of government (two terms of five years). Since the prospective Moe Myint Tun was removed from the scene, who will become the next commander-in-chief for the Myanmar military is still being speculated about. Some military analysts anticipate he could be the rapidly rising Lt. Gen. Kyaw Swa Lin (born 1971, present age: 52) (DSA 35), the present quartermaster general of the defense services. He was popular when he was commanding the Central Military Command in Mandalay with the rank of brigadier general. In 2020, he was promoted to lieutenant general and became the youngest in that position in Myanmar’s army. Though he is taking the position of quartermaster general, he has not been assigned to lead the military’s Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), which sets him apart from his predecessors. Moreover, he is reportedly linked to the now-removed Moe Myint Tun. Another potential contender for the commander-in-chief position is Lt. Gen. Ko Ko Oo (DSA 38), present commander of Bureau of Special Operation (BSO) No. 1. In 2020, he was appointed to command the Central Military Command in Mandalay with the rank of brigadier general, he was only 45 and the youngest commander of a military regional command. He became head of BSO No. 1 in August 2023. Previously, he commanded the military chief of staff and Military Operation Command (MOC). He is reportedly the son of former deputy minister of President Office No. 4, U Aung Thein, in U Thein Sein’s administration. Lt. Gen. Thet Pon (DSA 29), the present commander of BSO. No. 5 is another possible successor. He is currently commanding in Yangon. He was honored for his performance on the 2020 National Independence Day. But as he was leading the forces to violently crush peaceful protestors, sanctions were imposed upon him by the governments of the European Union and Canada. But he is unlikely to be selected because of his rather old age. According to the SAC’s Protocol, another important possible contender is Lt. Gen. Ye Win Oo (OTS 77), who is currently the SAC’s joint secretary and commander of Military Affairs Security (MAS). According to the official seating plan, he seems to be on the front line and quite stable in the SAC. Nevertheless, in Myanmar military tradition, commanders of auxiliary forces rarely become commanders-in-chief, but rather, it is most often infantry commanders that come to this highest position. He is now 57. Yet, military commanders junior to Lt. Gen. Kyaw Swa Lin (DSA 35) could also be selected as commanders-in-chief to be. BSO No. 4 Commander, Lt. Gen. Nyunt Win Swe (DSA 36), should be on watch lists. If the successor selection reaches this point, there will be a widening generation gap in the military. Once, there was an 18- or 19-year gap in the military cadet generation, between Snr. Gen. Than Shwe and Min Aung Hlaing, and the gap between Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and the next commander-in-chief will be at least 17 years. The younger officers will find it very difficult to raise questions to the present commanders in charge of the military. In case, if there were some senior officers selected to be the next commander-in-chief, it is customary to nurture them at least three years in service and it may take time. The present commander-in-chief may groom these officers until he is satisfied. Then the time frame of the military succession will conflict with the speculating election timeline in 2025. Min Aung Hlaing’s dream to shift his career to politics could take longer if he is to leave his military chief post in good hands. At this moment, Myanmar’s military faces tremendous challenges in its legitimacy, in its centrality, in its performance, in its guardian role, and in its popular support. Last, but not the least, there is an interesting point for military leadership. When the military staged a coup in 1988, the head of SLORC/SPDC, Snr. Gen. Than Shwe, was 48 and Secretary, Gen. Khin Nyunt was in 40s. At the time of 2021 coup, Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing was 66 (presently, he is 68). This could be interpreted as a large difference in age. The current heads of the SAC could lack in proactivity, aggression, attentiveness, and innovation, compared to the junta leaders of SLORC/SPDC in the past. As people age, they become more conservative and resistant to change. Current senior military commanders may want to retire peacefully at ease after their terms. They could be hardly become change makers. As time progresses, the military succession crisis and the deepening generational gap will assume increasing significance.....3.Extreme Weather and Acute Flooding in Myanmar... Soon after the commencement of the extreme weather phenomenon of El Niño, some areas of Myanmar experienced acute floods. In Bago City, the water level reached 940 cm on October 9, above the “danger level” of 880cm. In three days of flooding, fifteen wards and nine villages (80 percent of the city) were inundated, amounting to the worst flooding in 60 years, affecting 13,000 people. News reported that in addition to Bago City, Hmawbi, Taik-Kyi, Kyaik Hto townships and some places on the Yangon–Mandalay highway and railway were underwater. During the El Niño phenomenon, extreme weather can cause drought, extreme heat and floods in various places, which can damage crops. In SAC’s official newspaper, the SAC officials explain the nature of El Niño to the public in many townships. However, this is not enough, and many preparations should be made on the side of the authorities, such as disaster preparedness, the empowerment of the population, climate-sensitive budgeting, and linking to international humanitarian agencies and climate diplomacy. During the last year of the U Thein Sein administration, in July and August 2015 (during the previous El Niño phenomenon), floods inflicted extensive damage in Myanmar: twelve out of 14 states and regions were inundated, affecting a million people. Myanmar faces the problem of flooding almost every year and some years are much worse than others. In 2015, some estimated that Myanmar could lose two percent of its GDP because of flooding. For coming natural emergencies, the mantra of “self-help” is not enough: more preparation is required.....∎ Trends to be watched Widespread Corruption in Myanmar To understand the post-coup insight into Myanmar’s society, ISP-Myanmar conducted a socio-economic study in 110 townships to identify the SAC’s performance of public services in the three months of May, June, and July 2023. One question in the study was whether it is necessary to pay bribes to township-level officials to get things done. The findings indicated that it is required to pay cash bribes to township officials in 70 to 107 out of 110 townships observed (64 to 97 percent). It is common for people to have to pay gifts to officials and staff in exchange for the public services they receive. The study observed the SAC’s municipal, tax office, immigration office, electricity supply office, education, hospitals, and administration offices in terms of taking bribes. According to the July findings, people need to pay immigration officials in 109 townships out of 110 townships observed. The second most corruption-ridden offices are municipal, courts and administration offices. The survey result shows people use money to pay bribes in 103 out of 110 townships surveyed. The office that is most likely to accept gifts, rather than money, as bribes is the education department; this was reported by 57 out of 110 townships in May, and this increased to 76 townships in June and July. Another office likely to accept gifts as bribes is the township court; this was observed in 55 townships in May, and 69 townships in June and July.....It is conspicuous that people use gold to pay bribes. It was found that people pay gold as a bribe to township court officials in nine townships in May, eight townships in June, and nine townships in July. Survey results found that administration offices were second most likely to accept gold jewelry; this was reported by six townships in May, two townships in June, and four townships in July, respectively. The tax offices are the third most likely to accept gold: three townships reported this in May, three townships reported this in June, and four townships reported this in July. The least corrupted departments were found to be hospitals. This was reported by 25 townships in May, 22 townships in June, and 19 townships in July. This was followed by electricity supply offices, as reported by 18 townships in May, 24 townships in June, and 21 townships in July. According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) (2022), Myanmar received a score of 23 out of a range from 0 (“highly corrupt”) to 100 (“very clean”). Myanmar ranked 157th out of the 180 countries in the Index. What the results of the ISP-Myanmar’s survey show is the ‘petty corruption’ present among public servants working at the township level. However, the bribe payments involve gold and cannot be underestimated as petty. It is presumable there could be “policy-level corruption” at higher levels of administration. The recent SAC’s actions taken against Lt. Gen. Moe Myint Tun, Brig. Gen. Yan Naung Soe and other officers may be a good example. However, ISP-Myanmar’s survey findings cannot reveal the corruption of such “big fish”. Academic studies suggested there will be more corruption if there is a combination of a “monopoly of power” and the “discretion of officials” while lacking “accountability.” In post-coup Myanmar, check-and-balance mechanisms are dysfunctional, as no parliamentary representatives question public services, and there is a very limited and risky role of activists and the media. On the other hand, the pay given to public servants hardly rises in accordance with rapidly increasing inflation and commodity prices. Because of inflation, their spending power is largely dwindling. This trend will inevitably drive these public servants to compensate for their falling standard of living with corruption. ∎ What ISP is reading? ILO’s Investigation Report and Potential Bigger Impacts on Myanmar ILO. (August 4, 2023). Towards Freedom and Dignity in Myanmar. 207 pages A few days ago, the International Labor Organization (ILO) published an investigation report on Myanmar. In June 2021, after the military coup in Myanmar, the ILO called upon the military to restore democracy and respect its citizens’ human rights. At the 344th governing body meeting of Switzerland’s Geneva-based ILO from March 14 to 26, 2022, it was decided to set up a high-level commission of inquiry with respect of the non-observance by Myanmar of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87) and the Forced Labor Convention, 1930 (No. 29). The SAC’s Labor Ministry issued a statement on April 4, 2022, strongly rejecting the decision, as it was unilateral. The Governing Body of the ILO later appointed persons to serve on the Commission of Inquiry: Judge Raul Cano Pangalangan (Philippines) as chairperson and Judge Dhayanithie Pillay (South Africa) and Dr Faustina Pereira (Bangladesh) as members. ILO’s Commission of Inquiry emphasized particularly Convention 87 and Convention 29. The Commission concluded in the report that the military control has “had a disastrous impact on the exercise of basic civil liberties. Trade union members and leaders have been killed, arbitrarily arrested, subjected to sham trials, convicted, detained, abused, and tortured, threatened, intimidated, subjected to surveillance, forced into exile.” In addition, the report of more than 200 pages mentioned with evidence that “women trade union leaders have been exposed to particularly violent treatment on the part of the security apparatus, including sexual violence.” The ILO’s high-level Commission of Inquiry on Myanmar is the 14th action in its history spanning more than a hundred years. There is a three-month deadline for the Myanmar junta to respond. The Commission has investigated not only the SAC but also the forced labor practices of EAOs in conflict areas, such as the Shan State Army (SSA/SSPP), the Shan State Restoration Council (SSA/RCSS), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Arakan Army (AA). The SAC Labor Ministry issued a statement mentioning that “Myanmar is a member state of the ILO, complying with ILO Convention No. 87: no one is punished or taken action for practicing his or her rights peacefully or being a member of a trade union. According to the Labor Organization Law (2011), Myanmar granted registrations to over 3,000 organizations – 2,886 basic labor organizations, 162 township labor organizations, 26 region/state labor organizations, nine labor federations, one confederation of trade unions of Myanmar, one basic employers’ organization, one township employers’ organization, and one employers’ federation. More than 190,000 workers are enjoying their rights in these organizations.” Again, on September 2, 2022, the SAC Labor Ministry strongly rejected the ILO’s website display about Myanmar. A trade unionist assisting with labor issues in Myanmar discussed the ISP-Myanamr for their sandwiched difficulties. Though the SAC claims no official ban on trade unions, the most restrictive new organization law makes it difficult to be registered. These labor campaigners are not collaborating with higher-level ministries, but they are assisting garment workers with township-level officers to mediate industrial conflicts with factory owners and laborers when there were protests and sit-ins to demand pay raises and healthier worksites. Then, they faced criticism from exiles as collaborating with the illegal junta. In the post-coup situation, tripartite negotiations between employers, workers and the government and industrial arbitration have stopped. The SAC announced the minimum wage as 5,800 kyats, changed from 4,800 kyats on October 5, 2023. However, it is unilateral and does not follow the 2013 Minimum Wage Law, which requires to set the minimum wage based on the negotiated result of employers, workers, and government representatives. Unquestionably, workers in Myanmar are losing their rights to be represented, to make demands, and to organize themselves in trade unions. What could happen if the Myanmar junta doesn’t accept the recommendations of the ILO? In the late 1990s, international sanctions against Myanmar were initiated because of forced labor issues, rather than political ones. This time, if the junta commits similar violations as the ILO demands it to stop, or fails to reform according to the recommendations, the ILO refers the matter to the International Court of Justice, the UN’s top court, without passing through the UN Security Council. On the other hand, the trade unions’ actions will be immense and will fight for the rights of workers in Myanmar, which could result in a heavy blow to trade and tourism..."
Source/publisher: Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar
2023-10-16
Date of entry/update: 2023-10-16
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Description: "In Myanmar, the Shelter/NFI/CCCM Cluster was activated in January 2013. By March 2013, the Shelter/NFI/CCCM Cluster became operational in Kachin and Northern Shan States. Currently 3 Camp Management Agencies undertake substantial work for the Shelter/NFI/CCCM Cluster: data collection, coordination, monitoring of services, community mobilization and capacity building across camps that house over 107,000 IDPs. The objective of the Shelter/NFI/CCCM Cluster remains to ensure all of the priority, camps that contain the majority of IDPs, have a dedicated Camp Management Agency, delivering coordinated assistance in line with the rights and needs of the displaced and where possible preparing them for life after displacement..."
Source/publisher: CCCM Cluster, Shelter Cluster, UN High Commissioner for Refugees via Reliefweb (New York)
2023-09-21
Date of entry/update: 2023-09-21
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Sub-title: The junta’s opponents are contesting roads, rivers and railways throughout the country, but the regime retains sufficient control over supply lines to sustain its offensives.
Description: "Opposition forces across the country launched multiple attacks on regime convoys and flotillas carrying supplies and reinforcements, as well as against infrastructure like bridges and railways. To secure its lines of communication, the regime deployed more firepower and sent advance units to raid and depopulate nearby communities. This month’s update looks at recent dynamics in the Dry Zone, Bago East, and Kayah, where fighting along vital transport routes continues to escalate. Regime makes progress over Dry Zone resistance, although some units grow stronger Widespread armed violence persisted across the Dry Zone, with regime units continuing their efforts to locate and destroy independent Local Defence Forces (LDFs).? In July, the IISS described an ongoing shift in tactics away from the pervasive use of arson by regime forces. Instead, soldiers are increasingly employing more select forms of violence, drawing on improved intelligence to help them identify and kill resistance fighters and their supporters. Reports of raids, killings, and torture by regime forces continue even as the pace of village arson declines. The number of successful raids against LDFs coupled with information from multiple sources suggest that the regime may be making progress in reducing the number of localised armed actors operating across the Dry Zone. Most LDFs continue to depend primarily on homemade weapons, restricting their ability to effectively defend against raids, which accelerated after the regime dedicated additional resources to this theatre of operations early this year. Single attacks by regime units commonly result in the destruction of entire resistance cells. Although independent and poorly equipped LDFs appear to be facing mounting difficulties, some individual People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) operating in coordination with the National Unity Government (NUG) or ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) appear increasingly coordinated and well-equipped. Over the last two months, photo and video evidence uploaded to social media has shown the growing prevalence of what appear to be factory-manufactured rifles, rather than homemade weapons, in the hands of uniformed PDF units operating in the Dry Zone. If these trends continue into 2024, the conflict in central Myanmar may evolve from a grassroots rebellion into a protracted insurgency waged by a smaller number of armed outfits. The geographical extent of fighting between combatants could become more limited even as some individual battles intensify. The Dry Zone has also witnessed intensified conflict along its rivers, which both sides rely on for transport and supply. In late July, a regime flotilla of six supply ships and three gunboats departed from Mandalay, traveling up the Irrawaddy River on its way to Kachin State. On 31 July, a similarly-sized flotilla embarked from Monywa, moving north along the Chindwin River. In both instances, the regime sent advance columns to secure the riverbank as the flotilla moved upriver by conducting village raids, leading to mass displacement as well as the death and injury of numerous civilians. Multiple resistance outfits equipped with makeshift rockets and small arms made unsuccessful attempts to halt the regime’s waterborne convoys by launching ambushes from dug-in positions along the riverbank. Violence along the Irrawaddy and Chindwin rivers is likely to accelerate, leading to more civilian casualties and displacement.....Resistance contests regime supply lines in Bago East The last three months saw a marked acceleration of fighting in Bago East, where allied units from the Karen National Union (KNU) and PDFs are exerting increased pressure on one of the country’s most important corridors. Resistances forces may now aim to break out onto the western side of the Sittaung River in order to threaten three important routes linking Yangon to Naypyidaw and Mandalay: the railway, the old highway, and the new highway further to the west. In the last three months, resistance forces have carried out multiple ambushes near to the railway and old highway. The regime’s hold on the new highway, however, remains relatively secure for now. Some of the more notable fighting has occurred outside the towns of Kyauktaga and Nyaunglebin, where the river nears the old road and railway. Yet resistance forces will need to overcome several significant obstacles if they are to expand operations further west beyond the Sittaung River. The Karen Hills, which are dominated by the KNU, are an important supply base and launching pad for attacks along the eastern side of the valley. To threaten the new highway in the west, coalition forces will need to establish a firmer foothold in the Bago Mountains or risk overstretching their supply lines. Resistance activities in the Bago Mountains appear limited for the time being. Despite a growing number of ambushes and acts of sabotage, the regime’s strengths in air and artillery will likely prevent resistance forces from consolidating control over any exposed segment of the transport corridor. Since the coup, a similar contest over the Asia Highway 1 in Kayin and Mon states has involved numerous resistance disruptions to commerce and logistics, sometimes for weeks at a time. However, the regime has consistently proven itself able to repel major offensives, repair damaged segments of the road, and resume the flow of troops and traffic. Moreover, attacks on infrastructure are costly for resistance forces and their civilian supporters who also rely on the same roads and bridges used by the regime. A limited contest along transport routes in Bago is likely to continue, especially in the southeastern portion of the Sittaung Valley. Kayah State resistance maintains operational tempo despite regime onslaught An ongoing battle that began in March this year continued unabated in Kayah State, where the regime and a coalition of Karenni resistance outfits are vying for control over key lines of communication. In late May, regime forces adopted a blockade strategy by seizing control of the main junctions and roads along the border between Kayah and Shan states. On 13 June, however, a sizeable faction of soldiers from the regime-aligned Karenni border guard forces defected before launching attacks alongside resistance units in the state’s southeast. The mutiny forced the regime to dispatch additional units southward in an ongoing attempt to regain control of Mese town and its surrounding positions. Karenni fighters have attempted to halt the regime’s reinforcements with frequent ambushes, especially along the road between Demoso and Hpruso, the state’s second- and third-largest towns. In August, regime units seized several key villages along the route in an effort to secure safe passage for a convoy, reportedly comprising between 80 and 120 trucks. Karenni units responded with surprise attacks behind the enemy’s frontlines in early September, inflicting losses on the regime. In a recent interview, Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) chair Khun Bedu admitted that his forces could not stop the regime’s advances due to heavy air and artillery strikes. Though they struggle to consolidate their gains, Karenni fighters remain able to manoeuvre throughout the theatre and continually contest the state’s key sites, preventing the regime from establishing a secure frontline outside urban areas. Both sides have suffered significant casualties in the last two months. The Karenni resistance is possibly the most formidable of any movement to have emerged after the 2021 coup. Their success is drawn from a number of factors, including effective coordination among various outfits, a good degree of shared political vision, and strong leadership from field commanders. The Karenni coalition is also well-equipped, making it possible for its motivated fighters to maintain a high tempo of attacks against the regime. The ongoing battle involves some of the fiercest combat of the last two decades and is likely to continue indefinitely, with both sides stubbornly committed to the fight despite the mounting costs in lives and materiel. The conflict is driving a major humanitarian crisis, with as much as 75% of the state’s population displaced..."
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Source/publisher: International Institute for Strategic Studies
2023-09-19
Date of entry/update: 2023-09-19
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Description: "WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: In the South-East, the number of IDPs increased from 523,900 from last week to 530,400 this week. In Bago (East) Region, ongoing fighting forced 4,900 IDPs from Kyaukkyi Township to flee within the same township. This includes some 425 IDPs being displaced multiple times. In Kayin State, as a result of armed clashes, some 7,700 IDPs were displaced for the second time in Kyainseikgyi Township. In Mon State, some 20 IDPs from Thaton Township were displaced within the same township due to the fighting near their villages but have returned to their homes since then. In Shan (South), some300 IDPs from Mongkaing Township were displaced to Nansang Township due to intensified fighting in their area. In Tanintharyi Region, some 1,800 IDPs from Palaw Township were displaced within the township due to increased tensions and security concerns. Across the border, about 8,300 people from Myanmar remain displaced in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2023-09-18
Date of entry/update: 2023-09-18
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Description: "WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS: In the South-East, the number of IDPs increased from 518,700 from last week to 523,900 this week. In Bago (East) Region, ongoing fighting forced 5,400 IDPs from Phyu to be displaced within their communities. Among them, 1,600 IDPs were displaced to Kyauktaga Township and 3,800 IDPs were displaced within Phyu Township. In Kayin State, 25 IDPs from Hpapun Township were displaced within the same township in light of the intensified fighting in their area. In Mon State, the ongoing conflict led to the displacement of over 200 IDPs for the second time in Kyaikto Township. However, during the reporting period, som 200 IDPs returned to their place of origin in Billin Township. Across the border, about 8,400 people from Myanmar remain displaced in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2023-09-11
Date of entry/update: 2023-09-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2023-09-14
Date of entry/update: 2023-09-14
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Description: "In the South-East, the number of IDPs increased from 513,000 last week to 515,600 this week. In Mon State, about 2,400 IDPs were verified in Thaton Township. Among them, 450 were displaced within the township while 1,900 IDPs originated from Bilin Township. In Bago Region (East), intensified fighting displaced 30 people from Thandaunggyi Township in Kayin State to Taungoo Township. In Kayin State, 150 people from two villages in Thandaunggyi Township were displaced within the township due to intensified fighting. Across the border, about 9,400 people from Myanmar remain displaced in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2023-08-28
Date of entry/update: 2023-08-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Once a joyful and beautiful place where children played and families enjoyed normal days, surrounded by lush nature, traditional homes, livestock and farms, many areas of Kachin State in Myanmar have now become silent and empty spaces scarred by armed conflict. The people in Kachin had not anticipated they would be forced to leave their homes and seek shelter in internally displaced camps. Yet over 100,000 people have been displaced for more than ten years in the state. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Kachin is dedicated to helping communities who have faced trauma, lost their livelihoods and lived in cramped temporary shelters as they fled violence. We work to address their urgent needs, improve their living conditions and relieve their suffering. In late 2022, the ICRC constructed 63 homes for families who relocated to Hka Garan Yang village in Sumprabum township and the Sadung Na Sar resettlement site in Waingmaw township. Our goal was that the families move to a new location where they can live safely and sustainably. We started our work by helping the families register their land ownership and then built adequately spacious homes equipped with bathrooms and private toilets. We also installed solar power systems in every home for cost-effective and sustainable electricity supply and set up a small-scale gravity water system to provide them with clean water. "There's a saying that reflects our experience – 'It's always darkest before dawn'. We faced many harsh challenges before relocating here. But now we have a durable home with a kitchen, solar lighting, fresh water supply and a toilet. Things are better now." - Mrs. Lahpai Ja Ring, whose family moved into a new home as part of the ICRC's resettlement project. She adds that since they have a safe space to live, they can better utilize their potential and pursue their dreams. Even though they have relocated to a new environment, the families have quickly adapted and settled in. Our teams have also provided them with support to improve their livelihood activities such as rearing livestock and farming. "We have seen how happy and satisfied the families are since they have moved into their new space. We also helped them transition out of their previous status as internally displaced people and reintegrate into a more normal life," said Guillaume Binet, an ICRC staff member in Kachin State. Binet adds, "we also plan to build a primary school at the Sadung Na Sar resettlement site." As conflict continues and the challenges multiply, our teams remain committed to helping communities across Kachin State overcome the difficulties. Every family deserves to have a home to call their own. In two townships of Myanmar’s northernmost state, we help 63 families to take their first steps towards rebuilding their lives..."
Source/publisher: International Committee of the Red Cross (Geneva) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2023-08-09
Date of entry/update: 2023-08-09
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Description: "This document presents the situation of the population in Pauktaw Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps and SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s intervention to ensure continuous access to water during the water scarcity period. SI started operating in Rakhine State during the emergency phase following cyclone Giri in 2010. It then responded to the humanitarian crisis resulting from the two waves of inter-communal violence in 2012. Since February 2013, SI has been working in Pauktaw IDP camps (ANYC, NC1, NC2, KNP) and village (ANYV) hosting Rohingyas, providing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services. In the camps, people are exposed to harsh climate and very poor land with limited access to water, which greatly reduces their access to livelihoods and prevents them from meeting their basic needs. Due to geographical, hydrogeological, and climatic parameters, 25,812 Rohingya displaced in Pauktaw township suffer from annual potable water scarcity. The water shortage occurs during the dry season from midApril to early rainy season in June. They are located in low coastal plains on islets surrounded by brackish and salt water, and thus highly exposed to floods and cyclones. In addition, its hydrogeological characteristics led to groundwater depletion and saltwater intrusion in several areas. During the dry season, potable water is also not available. Although climate change could increase rainfall, it will become less predictable. The main areas’ water source is rainwater collected in ponds, with an average rainfall of 4.5 metres per year. The seepage and evaporation lead to the loss of two-thirds of the water collected, hampering the ability to uphold basic humanitarian standards (15 litres per day and per person, as per Sphere Standards). The combination of demographic growth, influx of Rohingyas, and limited land availability suitable for pond construction in camps, results in the ponds drying up about 3 months a year. Improving rainwater harvesting and storage remains the most practical solution for increasing and optimizing the amount of water available after the monsoon..."
Source/publisher: Solidarités International (Paris) via Reliefweb (New York)
2023-08-08
Date of entry/update: 2023-08-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: The latest attacks come amid reports that the military is using the river to transport supplies to northern Sagaing Region
Description: "At least 5,000 people have been displaced by recent military raids targeting villages along the Chindwin River in Sagaing Region, according to local relief workers. The latest attacks come as seven cargo ships, accompanied by two gunboats, started making their way north from the Sit Pin Port in Monywa early Monday morning, locals reported. “We assume they’re going to Homalin and Mawlaik townships with supplies, weapons and ammunition. Troops on the ground raided Say Thu, which is right on the river, this morning,” a resident of the area told Myanmar Now on Monday. Many of the displaced civilians are from Sone Chaung, a large village located opposite Monywa on the western bank of the Chindwin. Most fled the village after junta troops massacred 14 residents on July 21. Some who returned after that incident said they were forced to flee again after soldiers stationed nearby renewed their attacks. “We went back, but we’re sure it’s not safe to stay overnight yet. Everyone’s been displaced since the military arrived,” said a Sone Chaung villager who spoke on condition of anonymity. Other villages affected by the recent raids include Than Po, Sithu, Pan Tein Pyin, and Kyauk Hmaw, according to local relief workers. Myanmar’s military often uses the Chindwin River to transport supplies to remote parts of northern Sagaing Region. The regime has faced fierce resistance to its rule throughout the region since it seized power in a coup in February 2021. Military supply lines are a frequent target of anti-junta groups that have deployed guerrilla tactics as a means of weakening the junta’s ability to assert control over the country’s population. According to the latest United Nations estimates, ongoing conflict in Myanmar has displaced at least 1.6 million civilians over the past two and a half years..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2023-08-01
Date of entry/update: 2023-08-01
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Sub-title: Troops have been raiding villages almost daily since last Friday
Description: "A junta raid on Tuesday forced nearly 5,000 residents from 10 villages in Sagaing region to flee, locals told RFA. They said a junta column raided a village in Salingyi township this morning, prompting locals from other villages in the area to abandon their homes. “In the past people normally returned to their villages if the junta column left and went away,” said a villager who didn’t want to be named for security reasons. “But now it’s raining and hot, so the roads are bad and it's hard for people [to move around].” The local said the junta had been carrying out systematic raids on villages almost every day since July 21. Residents said they are also scared to return home because they fear junta gunboats will come up the river firing heavy artillery. RFA reached out to the junta’s Sagaing region spokesman, Saw Naing, for comment but he did not answer calls on Tuesday. Nearly 800,000 Sagaing region residents have been forced to flee their homes due to the conflict since the junta staged a February 2021 coup, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)..."
Source/publisher: "Radio Free Asia" (USA)
2023-07-25
Date of entry/update: 2023-07-25
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Description: "Almost 50,000 more people were displaced by the escalating conflict between junta troops and resistance forces in Myanmar between June 12 and July 17, according to the United Nations refugee agency. An additional 46,700 people were displaced in four regions—Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Magwe and eastern Bago—and five states—Chin, Kachin, Karen, Kayah, Mon and Shan—during the five weeks, reports released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in June and July say. At least 20,000 people in Tanintharyi Region, 13,700 in Sagaing Region and 9,300 in Karen State were displaced by conflict during the period. Another 3,500 people in Mon State and 3,100 in Bago Region fled their homes during the five weeks due to escalating fighting between junta troops and resistance forces, or raids, indiscriminate shelling, airstrikes, and the threat of arrest or murder by junta forces. The new figures raise the total of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Myanmar to nearly 1.9 million. The number of IDPs surpassed 1.8 million in Myanmar on June 12, 2023, according to UNHCR. Ongoing fighting between regime troops and anti-regime forces in resistance strongholds after the February 1, 2021 coup is the cause in the surge of IDPs. There were an estimated 328,000 IDPs in Myanmar before the coup. Of estimated 1.9 million IDPs now, 83 percent (over 1.5 million) were displaced after the coup in seven states and four regions. UNHCR also reported the number of IPDs has increased in southeast Myanmar, saying in an Emergency Update on July 3: “Children and youth are reportedly targets for arrest and forced recruitment, as they are increasingly on the move in the region. In addition, reports of gender-based violence are also on the rise.” The number of IDPs had risen to 491,600 in southern Shan, Karen, Kayah and Mon states, and Bago and Tanintharyi regions, since the coup, it estimates. The number of IDPs surged 40 percent in Tanintharyi Region, 11 percent in Mon State and nine percent in Karen state between June 12 and July 17. The UN refugee agency put the number of people fleeing to neighbouring countries since the coup at 94,000, saying 67 percent (63,500) remain stranded in India and Thailand. Some 54,400 people are taking refuge in Mizoram and Manipur states in India, while 9,000 refugees remain displaced in Thailand’s Mae Hong Son province, alone, according to the UNHCR reports. Before the coup, there were 21,000 refugees and asylum seekers residing in India, 92,000 in Thailand. Another 930,000 refugees from Myanmar are in Bangladesh, primarily Rohingya who fled atrocities in Rakhine State in 2017..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2023-07-24
Date of entry/update: 2023-07-24
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Description: "KEY HIGHLIGHTS 96,550 people received core relief items comprising kitchen sets, blankets and sleeping mats, ensuring their basic needs were met. 95,950 people received shelter support for safe and dignified living conditions while in displacement. 11,900 people with specific needs benefited from cash assistance to meet their basic needs. POPULATION OF CONCERN 1.86 M Internally displaced people (IDP) living in Rakhine, Chin, Kachin, Shan, Kayin, Kayah and Mon States, and Bago (East), Tanintharyi, Sagaing and Magway Regions (as of 3 July 2023). According to UN sources, an estimated 1,5 million people have been displaced due to the resumption and intensification of clashes between the Tatmadaw and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) and/or People’s Defense Forces (PDF) after 1 February 2021. 630,000 Estimated Rohingya in Rakhine State, of which some 147,400 are living in displacement camps as well as among the host community since 2012..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2023-07-21
Date of entry/update: 2023-07-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Background In October 2022, this analytical unit reported several State Administration Council (SAC) orders to close IDP camps in Rakhine, Chin, and Shan States, with most deadlines given as the end of that month. Responses to the SAC’s closure orders, some of which were detailed in a November 2022 follow-up report, varied widely depending on context. In February, this analytical unit spoke to IDP camp leaders, residents, and other sources near IDPs about the status of several specific camps in Kachin State, who described mounting pressure from General Administration Department (GAD) staff to close IDP camps there. IDPs, camp leaders, and communities living in these four states proposed diverse theories about the SAC’s orders, including that the SAC wanted to cut off the potential flow of aid through IDP camps to the Arakan Army in Rakhine and (southern) Chin States; that the SAC wanted to disperse IDPs in order to undermine both the ability of Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) to fight in Northern Shan State, and community support for those same EAOs; and that the SAC was moving IDPs as a tactic in negotiations about territorial control with certain EAOs in Southern Shan State. The SAC may also be attempting to reduce the official number of IDPs in order to posture to international observers that the situation in Myanmar is improving under the leadership of Min Aung Hlaing, and that the military is successfully consolidating control. In areas with current or potential camp closures — Rakhine, southern Chin, Northern Shan, Southern Shan, and Kachin States — key concerns reported by IDPs remain the continued tensions between armed actors in IDPs’ areas of origin or locations to which they might feasibly relocate. These tensions have persisted, posing the same challenges to returning or resettlement now as they have in the past, and in many cases perpetuating conditions that caused initial displacement — in some cases, over a decade ago. Over the course of discussions between this analytical unit and camp stakeholders since September 2022, tensions have remained high in Rakhine State, fighting is still ongoing between the SAC and Kachin forces in the Kachin State townships with the most IDPs, the SAC (sometimes alongside the Pa-O National Army) has continued to clash with Karenni forces near Southern Shan State’s border with Karenni State, and a medley of armed actors (including the SAC) have intermittently fought in Northern Shan State, where a diverse array EAOs jostle over areas of control. Other concerns reported by IDPs include unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination, presence of armed forces near return or relocation sites, lack of arable land and other livelihood opportunities, destroyed homes and land, and a lack of support to rebuild lives. This update is based on a small set of the camps in Rakhine, Chin, Shan, and Kachin States, and findings should not be assumed to be comprehensive or representative. The value of the qualitative approach is in the context-specific knowledge it provides; this snapshot illustrates perceptions of community members from a broad cross section of the local context, and the range of responses taken by displaced communities to the developing situation. For further analysis, detailed response implications, and recommendations for humanitarian responders regarding the SAC’s push to close formal IDP camps across Myanmar, please refer to the first report in this series: Situation Update: Camp Closure Crisis..."
Source/publisher: Center for Operational Analysis and Research
2023-06-20
Date of entry/update: 2023-06-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) is pleased to announce the release of its latest commentary report, titled: “Why would they target us?” Exploring patterns of the Burma Army's retaliatory abuses against villagers across Southeast Burma. Since the 2021 military coup, the State Administration Council (SAC) has carried out violent assaults in rural villages throughout Southeast Burma/Myanmar, targeting civilians instead of armed groups. These deliberate attacks, including killings, air strikes, indiscriminate shelling, shootings, arbitrary arrests, and property destruction, have devastating consequences for local communities. Drawing from interviews with local villagers and numerous field reports, this report presents several distinct patterns of retaliatory abuses against civilians by the Burma Army in the region. It sheds light on the SAC’s practice of scapegoating and collectively punishing civilians in ethnic areas, and provides a deeper understanding of the illegal and inhumane actions committed by the SAC in the country. This report places a particular focus on villagers' perspectives and their own understanding of the human rights violations they face. It highlights how local civilian efforts and initiatives are essential in resisting, evading, and protecting villagers from SAC abuses, as well as the concrete protection measures and actions villagers demand from the international community. The report aims to inform national, regional, and international policies, and challenge simplistic understandings of the situation in Karen State as a two-party conflict between the SAC military and ethnic armed organisations, with civilians collaterally impacted. The report highlights the urgent need for decisive action against the SAC's systematic targeting of civilians, ensuring accountability for perpetrators and supporting villagers’ agency. Such measures are essential if meaningful peace and justice in Southeast Burma is to be accomplished. KHRG calls on the international community, NGOs, and regional and foreign governments to: Acknowledge that the military junta is the root cause of the current human rights and humanitarian crisis, and refrain from giving any legitimacy to the junta, including by signing agreements with it and presenting credentials to it. Call on ASEAN to suspend Burma’s ASEAN membership until a democratically-elected civilian government is restored; abandon the current Five-Point Consensus and develop a new plan that addresses the critiques outlined by numerous stakeholders; and cooperate with international and local actors to end the junta’s violence against the people of Burma. Broaden the scope of accountability in future proceedings to include SAC crimes committed against Karen peoples, not yet covered by current investigations, as well as to investigate the war crime of collective punishment and the crime against humanity of persecution. Increase financial support for and collaboration with local human rights organisations and actors operating on the ground to ensure that the widest representation of voices and experiences of oppressed peoples in Burma are considered. Acknowledging the SAC practice of purposely targeting civilians in Southeast Burma, ensure increased and adequate humanitarian assistance and protection, including support for victims of air strikes, displacement, property destruction, torture, arbitrary arrest, and other abuses. Suspend all arms transfers to Burma including all weapons, munitions, surveillance technologies, and other military and security equipment. Suspend exports of aviation fuel, and take action to avoid contributing to these supply chains, whether directly or indirectly..."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group
2023-06-16
Date of entry/update: 2023-06-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "KAYIN STATE, Myanmar, Apr 17 2023 (IPS)- Food is passed around a campfire, and a guitar strums as cool night air tumbles down mountain cliffs, relieving the jungle of its heat. A dozen or so young Myanmar activists – some having just travelled long distances evading military checkpoints, others already living in exile – have come together in a jungle camp for a training course with a difference. Instead of armed combat, their chosen role is enabling the overthrow of the military junta through non-violent means. Conversations are animated, with talk of federal democracy and creating a country that would also give political space and freedom to ethnic minorities. They are joined by soldiers of the rebel Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) protecting the camp deep in southeastern Kayin State. The peaceful setting of the camp belies the horrors of the civil war beyond the mountains that is breaking Myanmar apart. The generals who overthrew a democratically elected government and seized power in 2021 are increasingly responding to a national uprising by waging terror on civilians it calls “terrorists” in an attempt to break their support for armed insurgents. On April 11, the military carried out what is believed to be the deadliest attack of the civil war so far, using air strikes and a helicopter gunship on a village ceremony organised by the parallel and underground National Unity Government (NUG) in Sagaing Region. At least 165 people, including 27 women and 19 children, some performing dances, were killed, according to the NUG. The regime says it was attacking the NUG’s People’s Defence Forces. Over the past two years, artillery and bombing raids using aircraft supplied by China and Russia have targeted schools, IDP camps, hospitals, mosques, Buddhist temples and Christian churches across the country. Tens of thousands of houses have been torched, and more than 1.3 million people displaced since the 2021 coup, according to UN estimates. The barbarity defies belief. In February, a unit of some 150 soldiers known as the Ogre Column were dropped by helicopter in Sagaing and went on a marauding killing spree that lasted weeks. Scores of villagers were killed. Women were raped and shot. Men and boys were beheaded, disembowelled and dismembered. Truth about massacres in wars gone by took months or even years to fully emerge, but in this modern era of mobile phones and social media, the grim evidence is transmitted by survivors within a day or so. Kyaw Soe Win, a veteran activist with the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which carefully documents civilian deaths, arrests and extra-judicial killings, shows IPS a picture he has just received on his phone of a man in Sagaing, disembowelled and his organs taken out. Why do they do this? “It is to spread fear and terror,” he says. AAPP, now based in the border town of Mae Sot just inside Thailand, has an exhibition dedicated to victims of successive uprisings against military rule since protests against the first post-independence coup in 1962. Rows of faces and names stare out from the walls, including pictures of some 30 civilians – among them two Save the Children charity workers – who were tortured and burned alive in what is now known as the 2021 Christmas Eve Massacre in Kayah State. “This chapter is different,” Kyaw Soe Win, a former political prisoner, says of the present conflict. “The situation is getting worse and worse. The numbers of political prisoners and fatalities and houses torched are far higher. The junta is oppressing the people and is even more brutal than before.” Sky, a resistance fighter and writer, who uses a nom de guerre, explains in a Mae Sot bar how the insurgency is also very different this time. “After the 1988 student uprising, it took me three years to get an AK-47 and 300 bullets. Now it is much quicker. Now we are getting modified AK-47s through the Wa. They call it a Wa-AK,” he laughs, referring to an autonomous border area run by the heavily armed United Wa State Party. Their one-party narco-state on the border with China stays out of the war but makes money from both sides. “China systematically eroded history after the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, but after the 1988 protests in Myanmar, we still have the whispered stories. This generation knows what is right and wrong,” said Sky. Despite what the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recently called its “scorched earth policy”, the regime is steadily losing this war in terms of territory and military casualties. “The military is in a very, very difficult situation which is only getting worse,” says Matthew Arnold, an independent policy analyst on Myanmar with previous conflict experience in Afghanistan and Sudan. He says the regime’s forces are “atomised” and “bleeding out in a war of attrition”. In some towns, they are pinned down in police stations and barracks and cannot be reinforced or resupplied for months on end. Because it cannot move freely on the ground over the vast distances to maintain its outposts and impose its authority, the junta is resorting increasingly to air strikes and artillery against civilian populations. Sagaing and the neighbouring region of Magwe are crucial conflict areas. Covering an area bigger than England, they are known as the heartland of the Bamar majority and had been, for decades, a fertile recruiting ground for the Bamar-dominated military. But no more. “There are very few areas of Sagaing where they are not fighting on a regular basis. The junta was hit all over the place in February in Sagaing and Magwe,” says Arnold, who credits resistance forces moving rapidly “from muskets to drones and IEDS” (improvised explosive devices) in inflicting heavy losses. Vulnerable in more remote areas in Chin State in the west and areas of the southeast, the military’s pullback is expected to accelerate as the monsoons come. Thantlang in Chin State, near the border with India, was the first large town to fall to the rebels, although the junta’s bombing raids and artillery made sure that little was left standing. With no air defences, the resistance knows well that if it takes full control of more urban areas, then they are inviting disaster upon the civilian population. Myanmar is, in effect, fragmenting. The regime has a firm grip on the big cities of Yangon, Mandalay and the capital Naypyitaw – where residents say life is bustling and returning to some kind of ‘normal’ with even the makings of a property boom. But beyond, its real control is tenuous and weakening. Fighting a war on many fronts, the regime is trying to follow its practised divide-and-rule tactics of cutting deals and ceasefire pacts with various ethnic armed groups, aided to some extent by China’s influence in border areas. But major ethnic groups in most of the frontier states, such as the KNLA, which has been fighting the world’s longest civil war since 1949, are successfully resisting. A ceasefire with the mostly Buddhist Arakan Army also looks fragile in the western state of Rakhine, where in 2017, the military forced over 700,000 Muslim Rohingya into Bangladesh in a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing that has brought charges of genocide against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice. “Sadly, a prolonged fragmentation is a possibility, but we must accept that has been a possibility in Myanmar since before the coup of 1962,” David Gum Awng, deputy minister for international cooperation for the NUG shadow administration, tells IPS. “It is natural and unsurprising that EAOs (ethnic armed organisations) are consolidating gains, but the question is what these EAOs plan to do with their territory if and when the democratic forces win,” he adds. The NUG, he says, aims to rid Myanmar of the “abusive and criminal military dictatorship and along with it the military’s obsession with centralised Bamar-Buddhist nationalist rule”, to be replaced by a democratic federal system offering “ethnic minorities genuine self-determination” through negotiations. This significant shift in policy also extends to recognising and reaching out to the Rohingya, with the NUG promising justice and accountability for crimes committed against them by the military, a path towards citizenship, and peaceful repatriation for refugees. Although the NUG is built around remnants of the old guard of the National League for Democracy government ousted in the 2021 coup, its stated intentions have set it apart from the Bamar nationalist leanings of Aung San Suu Kyi, its 77-year-old former leader now held by the junta in solitary confinement. Strengthening but still, difficult ties between the self-proclaimed NUG and the ethnic armed groups are particularly worrying for China. Myanmar’s giant neighbour sees a threat to its long-term strategy of dominating the ethnic groups along its border while keeping Western powers out of a pliant Myanmar with the goal of developing massive infrastructure projects and a secure gateway to the Indian Ocean. Even though it enjoyed favourable relations with Aung San Suu Kyi, China is keeping the NUG at a cold arm’s length while propping up the junta with weaponry and diplomatic protection at the UN. India’s tacit backing for the regime has facilitated its own strategic investments. Much of the rest of Asia, including democracies like Japan and South Korea, are also working to protect their own interests in Myanmar while hoping that engagement with the regime will lead to a negotiated settlement of the war. UN agencies and the INGO aid industry also maintain a presence, mostly ineffectual, in junta-controlled Yangon. This perceived complicity angers the Burmese diaspora, which is busily raising money for aid and weapons for the resistance. Notions of a negotiated settlement with General Min Aung Hlaing’s State Administration Council, as the junta calls itself, are far from the minds of those waging their “forgotten war”. “Thai generals are brothers with the Myanmar military. Singapore banks hold their money. The Burmese feel forgotten,” said one US-based doctor, speaking in Bangkok after taking medical aid to the border. While recognising that the West’s attention and resources are focused on the overriding goal of defeating Russia in Ukraine, the resistance did receive a significant boost last December with the US Burma Act passed by Congress. The act authorises the Biden administration to extend non-lethal aid to “support the people of Burma in their struggle for democracy, freedom, human rights, and justice.” It explicitly mentions the NUG, although not ethnic armed groups. Some Washington-based analysts argue that the legislation does not mark a major US policy shift, but diplomats and experts in the region see it as a highly significant step towards endorsing the NUG and the wider resistance movement. “The US is now saying it wants the resistance to win and has fundamentally shifted the narrative. This is why China is getting worried. Beijing is focused on the discourse of talks and the peace process,” commented one expert in Bangkok who asked not to be named. “There won’t be lethal assistance. The US doesn’t want to be involved in another war now. But there will be more public and diplomatic support of the resistance and pushing other actors not to engage with the junta,” he added. David Gum Aung of the NUG is more cautious, calling the Burma Act “a significant piece of legislation” which makes funds available and opens the door to more sanctions against the regime while “recognising” the NUG. “We can view the Burma Act as a very important document symbolically but less potent practically. Its symbolic value stems largely from the fact that it outlines that the US views the SAC and their caretaker government as illegitimate and does not recognize their authority, their right to represent Myanmar or their justification for the coup.” “We are still sorely in need of all manner of aid, from humanitarian to strategic… but we cannot fall into the trap of assuming that everything the Act makes possible will eventuate,” he said. Thinzar Shunlei Yi, a democracy and youth activist who led anti-coup protests in Yangon and is now in exile, stresses that the broad-based and non-violent Civil Disobedience Movement remains the “backbone of the revolution”. Success, she says, will mean the surrender of the junta, with the people defining what happens to the perpetrators of crimes, whether to be put on trial in domestic courts or through international mechanisms. For her, it also means a social revolution that will tackle “patriarchy, hegemony, racism etc”. Kyaw Soe Win of the AAPP, whose grisly routine is to scroll through fresh images of the dead, says war criminals must be prosecuted to achieve national reconciliation. “We need justice for the survivors and victims,” he says. “Without justice, there can be no reconciliation. There was never any justice before, only impunity through the decades. No action was ever taken.” AAPP has so far documented over 17,000 political prisoners still in detention and the deaths of over 3,100 civilians since the coup, although it knows the actual toll is much higher. Nicholas Koumjian, head of the UN-authorised Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar which is working with AAPP, says credible evidence had been collected of an “array of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, torture, unlawful imprisonment, and deportation or forcible transfer”. Back in the jungle resistance camp, the young activists gather near caves that act as air raid shelters and talk of a future without military rule that will necessitate total reform of the armed forces. Among the group, one was severely tortured in prison, one shot in the leg during street protests and a mother who had to leave her child behind. The annual New Year festival of Thingyan is approaching, and they sing popular songs of love and separation and a homecoming they know may be years away. AAPP is working with the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar to collect and preserve evidence of crimes against international law committed since 2011 to expedite future criminal proceedings. Nicholas Koumjian, head of the IIMM, said on the second anniversary of the coup that credible evidence had been collected of an “array of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, torture, unlawful imprisonment, and deportation or forcible transfer.”..."
Source/publisher: Inter Press Service
2023-04-17
Date of entry/update: 2023-04-17
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Description: "Some 10,000 Burmese people have fled to Thailand to escape fierce fighting between the military and units of a powerful ethnic armed group since Wednesday, Thai authorities said. They are fleeing from Shwe Kokko town, controlled by a pro-military militia and home to Chinese-owned casinos. This is one of the largest cross-border movements of people since a military coup two years ago. The military has not released a statement yet about the fighting. It is the latest in a civil war that has been raging since the coup in February 2021. Two years on, the military government has failed to impose its authority on large areas of the country. It is battling established ethnic armed groups in border areas that have been at war with the military for decades, and recently-formed anti-coup militias that call themselves People's Defence Forces (PDFs) in much of the rest of the country. Many thousands of people have been killed and some 1.4 million have been displaced since the coup. Nearly one third of the country's population is in need of aid, according to the United Nations. The latest fighting broke out after the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and its allies launched attacks on military outposts and a gate camp near Shwe Kokko on Wednesday. More than 80 people have been killed on both sides, KNLA told BBC Thai. Aid workers in the border regions - Thailand's Mae Sot and Mae Ramat areas - have called for urgent humanitarian assistance as refugees seek shelter in schools, monasteries and rubber farms. "In the long run, we need more donors," said Kay Thi Htwe, a Burmese volunteer at a monastery in Mae Sot, which is hosting 500 refugees. The KNLA has also closed the Myawaddy-Kawkareik Asia highway - one of the main roads to the border - for two weeks starting Friday. Back in Shwe Kokko, the military-aligned Border Guard Forces which controls the enclave is protecting the casinos and warning residents to stay indoors. This comes as the military continues to crush civilian resistance, targeting schools, clinics and villages. Earlier this week, the military said it had arrested 15 teachers who had been giving online classes for a school backed by the exiled National Unity Government (NUG). The teachers were taken from their homes in Mandalay, Saigang and Magway, a member of the General Strike Committee of Basic Education Workers told the BBC. In July, about 30 teachers were reportedly arrested because they worked for an NUG-recognised online school. From the start, education has been a battleground in Myanmar. Teachers were among the first, along with health-workers, to walk out in protest against the coup, and were in the front line of the huge protests called by the Civil Disobedience Movement in the first weeks after the military takeover. When that was crushed, most still refused orders by the military junta that they should return to work, and in May 2020 around 150,000 teachers and university lecturers were dismissed from their jobs. Many decided to go underground, joining schools and clinics in areas where communities had begun an armed struggle against military rule. The military views the establishment of independent schools and clinics as an existential threat. Official figures suggest the number of students taking the 10th grade matriculation exam in state-run schools is now only one fifth of the number doing so before the coup. Teachers working outside the state sector have been branded as terrorists..."
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Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
2023-04-08
Date of entry/update: 2023-04-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The following is an edited version of a speech by Zoya Phan, Programme Director at Burma Campaign UK, at the launch of Refugee Week at the University of East Anglia on 3rd March 2023. Thank you so much for inviting me back to speak here again. It is a great honour for me to be back at the University of East Anglia. Refugee Week can be an emotional time for me. It makes me think back on my experiences as a child and young woman. When I was 14, the Burmese military attacked my village in Karen State, Burma. We all had to flee for our lives. We were lucky, we escaped, we walked through the jungle for weeks before we reached a refugee camp in Thailand. It was the first time I became a refugee. Before then, I had no idea what a refugee was and I had no understanding of the concept of being a refugee. The second time I became a refugee was two years later, after we had moved back to Burma to try to rebuild our lives in a new place, but that was also attacked by the Burmese military. We had to run through the night back into Thailand. Back into the refugee camps. I thought in my heart, no, not again, I don’t want to be a refugee again. But I had no choice. The third time I became a refugee was here in the UK, after coming to the UK to study. I became politically active against the Burmese military, and it was not safe for me to return to Thailand because of death threats, let alone Burma. The theme of compassion for this refugee week is a good one. It focuses on the positive. At every stage of my journey as a refugee people with compassion have helped. People from my own community, the ethnic Karen people of Burma, formed committees to help Karen refugees. They organised food, shelter and medical support. They made sure children had an education. International donors played a part, and international people came to help. When I came to the UK, I was met with compassion from friends I made here at this university, from the university itself, which was my first home in the UK, and from Karen and Burmese refugees already in the UK. Without this support, I cannot imagine my life. I would probably have died years ago. But while focusing on the compassion that has been so important to us as refugees, we must also focus on the lack of compassion that many governments and institutions have shown to refugees, because this must be challenged and it must change. When I was a refugee in Thailand, we were not given official refugee status. There was no pathway to work, integration, or making a life in Thailand, even though there was no hope of returning home to Burma. Instead we were made to construct barbed wire fences imprisoning ourselves, fences still there decades later. Thailand, like many countries, hasn’t signed the Refugee Convention. And the truth is, when I claimed asylum here, the Home Office treated me with no compassion at all. Staff were rude and threatening, my application took years, leaving me stateless and in fear, unable to start a new life. The process was as traumatic as when I ran through the jungle at night with Burmese military mortar bombs shaking the ground as they attacked us. I am always amazed and inspired by the compassion that so many people have to help others, I could not have survived without it. But I am disappointed as well at how refugees are treated. Cuts in aid budgets mean refugees abroad have rations cut, and children who have already been through so much will go hungry. Governments and media spend more time publicly attacking those seeking asylum than they do terrorists and criminals. And asylum seekers in the UK are still banned from working, despite the right to work making sense morally, economically, and having majority public support. If the Nationality and Borders Bill was in place when I claimed asylum, I would have been turned down. There are no legal pathways for people from Burma to come to the UK for sanctuary. But my hope for positive change is here. It means so much to me seeing many of you here. People with compassion. People who have no personal reason to give your time and effort to help refugees, but do so because you care. We have to change public attitudes, and we have to change laws. And we will. Compassion will win. My homeland is now a conflict zone. The Burmese military have been attacking us for decades. Every day, people have been attacked with airstrikes and artillery shelling. People in Burma are so desperate for help. Refugees just want to go home, we want to go home, but we cannot go home. For many of us our homes have been shattered and our families have been destroyed. There is nothing for us to go back to. But we still want to go home, because we want to help rebuild our country. We want to work for the development of our community and help our next generation to grow..."
Source/publisher: "Burma Campaign UK" (London)
2023-03-09
Date of entry/update: 2023-03-09
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Description: "7 March 2023: Today, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) releases a new report, “We Dare Not Return,” Displacement and the Denial of Human Rights in Southeastern Burma. The report includes an analysis of the current situation in our respective target areas of Southeastern Burma throughout 2022. The findings draw on interviews with emergency response teams, survivors, and witnesses of the attacks. The Burma Army committed all the crimes documented in the report with complete and total impunity. They are widespread, systematic and indicative of a worsening pattern of violence. Between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022, HURFOM reported that at least 146 people were killed, including 26 women and children. In addition, more than 480 were injured, and nearly 1500 were arbitrarily arrested and detained. The Burma Army continued to target opposition forces, including members of pro-democracy groups. This subsequently led to over 85 cases of enforced disappearances. Dozens of human rights defenders remain in exile for their safety. HURFOM also documented 750 houses burned, including 58 villages. The humanitarian crisis caused by the junta’s destruction has led to over 150 000 people being forcibly displaced in Southeastern Burma. Throughout the reporting period of 2022, the conditions on the ground caused civilians to feel unsafe. Many villagers that HURFOM spoke to said they ‘dare not return’ to their homes out of fear that they would be arrested, tortured or even killed by the military junta. There are economic and social struggles as villagers cannot work, study or support their families because the presence of the regime has deterred them. On multiple occasions, HURFOM documented Burma Army soldiers indiscriminately firing into villages. The situation in the third year since the failed coup has not improved. The rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in southeastern Burma requires urgent and immediate attention as more lives are caught in the crossfire daily. International actors and UN bodies must support and enact a no-fly zone in Burma, a global arms embargo, and an urgent and immediate referral of the situation in Burma to the International Criminal Court. And yet, a sentiment of hope, determination and adversity is still prominent throughout the country as rallying forces join together to defeat and dismantle the junta. The people on the ground in Burma are brave in their unwavering commitment to see an end to military rule. The international community must not let their struggle be in vain. They must use their diplomatic tools and resources to engage meaningfully with civil society organizations and the National Unity Government..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Foundation of Monland
2023-03-07
Date of entry/update: 2023-03-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: The 2-day campaign targeted a township hit hard by arson attacks this year.
Description: "More than 2,000 villagers in Myanmar’s northern Sagaing region fled ahead of two days of junta raids, the Kyunhla-Kanbalu Activists Group told RFA on Tuesday A spokesman, who didn’t want to be named, said a column of troops entered five villages in Kanbalu township over the weekend. “Before the troops entered Pon Nar Gyi village, they fired heavy artillery and a man in the village was hit by shell fragments,” he said. “The residents of nearby villages also had to flee because the troops were getting close.” After raiding Pon Nar Gyi on Saturday troops moved on to nearby Chat Lel. The following day they moved on to three other villages, including Pi Tauk Pin which has more than 100 homes, burning 12 of the houses there, the activists’ group said. Locals told RFA the military column comprised about 120 troops from junta Infantry Battalion 368 and the junta aligned Pyu Saw Htee militia. Calls to Sagaing region junta spokesman Aye Hlaing went unanswered Tuesday. In the past he told RFA he is not able to comment on security issues. Last month troops burned down 274 houses in Kanbalu and Kyunhla townships, according to the Kyunhla-Kanbalu Activists Group. It said seven people were burned to death. The military has stepped up a scorched earth campaign in Sagaing region this year, torching 4,271 houses in January and killing 17 civilians, Myanmar’s ousted National Unity Government said last week. In the last five months of 2022, the number of people in Sagaing region fleeing fighting and arson attacks rose 17% to 616,500 the Market Analysis Unit said on Jan. 29. That accounts for half of the newly displaced persons nationwide between August and December, according to the unit of the Myanmar Information Management Unit, which supplies data to the humanitarian and development community..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
2023-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2023-02-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Decision to overturn stay on deportation of 114 people to Myanmar risks their safety Return people to violent situations violates Malaysia’s human rights commitments ‘We strongly urge the Government to reconsider its plan and halt any decision to send people back to a violent and dangerous situation’ - Katrina Jorene Maliamauv and Tham Hui Ying In response to today’s decision by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, Malaysia to lift the stay of deportation of 114 people to Myanmar, Katrina Jorene Maliamauv, Executive Director of Amnesty International Malaysia and Tham Hui Ying, Executive Director of Asylum Access Malaysia, said: “This court decision demonstrates how despite an international outcry, calls to halt the forcible return of people from Myanmar continue to be ignored. The Government is determined to deport people instead of finding solutions that safeguard the rights and security of people from Myanmar. “Despite today’s lifting of the stay of deportation, we strongly urge the Government to reconsider its plan and halt any decision to send people back to a violent and dangerous situation. Violating this most fundamental principle of non-refoulement would reflect poorly on the new Government’s respect for human rights. “People from Myanmar should be allowed to remain safely in Malaysia while their status is regularised and not be detained or forcibly returned to Myanmar in any way while it remains in a state of unrest. “With a new Cabinet in place, the Government should end its dishonest approach of criticising the Myanmar military authorities while continuing quietly subjecting people to their forcible return to a country where they will be subjected to persecution.” Judicial review In February 2021, Amnesty Malaysia and Asylum Access Malaysia filed a judicial review to challenge the deportation of 1,200 people from Myanmar back to the country. Despite a court order and stay of deportation, 1086 of them were deported to Myanmar; at least 114 were not deported because they tested positive for Covid-19. The Kuala Lumpur High Court granted 114 people a stay of deportation pending the judicial review’s outcome. In May this year, the Government filed an application to lift the stay. In October, there was international outcry against the continued deportation of people back to Myanmar, including from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN High Commission for Refugees..."
Source/publisher: "Amnesty International" (UK)
2022-12-13
Date of entry/update: 2022-12-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: New Thai law prohibits refugee push-backs to countries where they may face torture
Description: "(BANGKOK, October 28, 2022)—Thai authorities should implement the country’s new anti-torture law that would prohibit the forced return of refugees to Myanmar and other countries where they may face torture, said Fortify Rights today. On October 25, 2022, the Thai government published the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act B.E.2565 (2022) (the Anti-Torture Act) in the Royal Gazette, making it law. This new law includes a provision codifying the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the forced return of a person to a country where they may face torture or other forms of ill-treatment. “This new law will make it illegal for Thai officials to push refugees back to Myanmar, where the junta is systematically torturing people,” said Amy Smith, Executive Director of Fortify Rights. “Thai authorities should urgently identify and provide legal recognition to Myanmar refugees to prevent forced returns.” Section 13 of Thailand’s new Anti-Torture Act states that: “No government organizations or public officials shall expel, deport, or extradite a person to another country where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, or enforced disappearance.” The new law will come into force after 120 days of publication in the Royal Gazette. Since the Myanmar military launched a coup d’état on February 1, 2021, the Myanmar junta has committed widespread and systematic torture of civilians, while producing tens of thousands of refugees, many of whom have sought protection in Thailand. In March 2022, Fortify Rights and the Schell Center for International Human Rights at Yale Law School published a 193-page report, “Nowhere is Safe”: The Myanmar Junta’s Crimes Against Humanity Following the Coup d’État, documenting evidence that the Myanmar junta is responsible for committing widespread and systematic torture and enforced disappearances. The report includes firsthand testimony from survivors and eyewitnesses of torture and analyzes additional evidence, including video footage of torture. The Myanmar junta—including the military and police—has employed torture by violently beating detainees all over their bodies, resulting in broken bones; shooting civilians with rubber bullets at extremely close range; whipping people with wires and cables; depriving detainees of food, water, and sleep; forcing detainees to maintain “stress positions” and forcing people to sit on chairs for several days; and by committing sexual assaults and issuing threats of rape. The junta’s arbitrary arrests accompanied by beatings in the streets also constitute torture. For several consecutive years, Fortify Rights has documented the forced return of refugees from Thailand, including the destruction of a cross-border footbridge used by Myanmar refugees fleeing deadly attacks in eastern Myanmar in March 2022. In May 2021, a Thai provincial official also confirmed to Fortify Rights that Thai authorities returned to Myanmar at least 2,000 refugees in line with a government order. Fortify Rights also documented pushbacks of boats carrying passengers believed to be Rohingya refugees by Thai authorities, under Thailand’s controversial “help-on” or “push-back” policy. According to credible sources, more recently, on September 30, 2022, Thai authorities pushed back a group of Karen refugees into Myanmar, where they face the risk of shelling, airstrikes, and other human rights violations, including torture and enforced disappearance. Fortify Rights is currently investigating the matter. All of the aforementioned push-backs by Thai authorities would be unlawful under the new domestic law, said Fortify Rights. Although Thailand has been a State Party to the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) since 2007, Thailand’s new anti-torture law is the country’s first significant attempt to bring its domestic laws in line with its international legal commitments. Thailand has not acceded to the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention nor its Protocol. However, Thailand is obligated to uphold the principle of non-refoulement under customary international law. The Thai government has also repeatedly committed to protect refugees, including by adopting the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration and endorsing the Global Compact on Refugees during the U.N. General Assembly in December 2018. Furthermore, on December 24, 2019, the Thai Cabinet approved regulations to establish a National Screening Mechanism to identify and potentially protect refugees. However, the mechanism is yet to be implemented and concerns remain on whether the mechanism will comply with international human rights standards. As of September 30, 2022, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Thailand recorded at least 91,000 camp-based Myanmar refugees, most of whom are protracted refugees from Myanmar living along the Thailand-Myanmar border, and another 4,800 refugees from over 50 countries living outside the border camps. However, many more refugees, including new refugees fleeing persecution and violence in Myanmar after the attempted coup on February 1, 2022, are unaccounted for given the lack of a formal system to register or recognize refugees in Thailand. UNHCR estimates that more than 70,000 refugees have fled from Myanmar to neighboring countries since the coup. “This anti-torture law is a welcome step, and Thai authorities must now ensure its effective implementation by halting forced returns,” said Amy Smith. “Thai authorities should work with civil society organizations and UNHCR to protect refugees.”..."
Source/publisher: "Fortify Rights"
2022-10-28
Date of entry/update: 2022-10-28
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Description: "HURFOM: Today, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), releases our latest report: “The junta wiped us out again”: Socio-economic impacts post-coup in Southeastern Burma. Our findings confirm that the Burma Army has deliberately derailed prospects for democracy in the country and has embarked on a campaign of targeted and wide-spread abuse in an attempt to terrorize the population into submission. Their volatile and unlawful actions have resulted in widespread displacement resulting in a refugee crisis alongside crippling social and economic impacts on innocent civilians. In areas of Mon State, Karen State and Tanintharyi region, the military junta has continued to act with impunity. HURFOM condemns the ongoing attacks and calls for immediate international intervention. Since the attempted coup on 1 February 2021, HURFOM has been documenting the human rights violations committed against local people by various battalions of the Burma Army. Through focus groups and interviews conducted by HURFOM for this report, witnesses and victims of various crimes perpetrated by the junta have voiced feelings of insecurity and fears of their future. Economic mismanagement has led to inflation, which has priced basic goods including cooking oil and rice, outside of the financial means of local people. Electricity blackouts are common, leaving many people without power for hours during the day. Compounded with limited work opportunities and ongoing bribery and extortion by the regime, civilians across Southeastern Burma are worried about their futures. Our findings include evidence of serious disregard for civilian safety and their livelihoods by the military junta. Education has been interrupted, risking a generation of children growing up illiterate and unable to provide for themselves. Young people have been forced to abandon their studies or seek opportunities abroad. As the junta unleashes their campaign of terror, resistance movements are adapting and using various tools and organizing methods to overcome them. The uptick in violence has also led to protracted displacement. HURFOM observed rising numbers of displacement as the presence of the Burma Army has led to more villagers fleeing to safer areas in search of refuge and protection. Across HURFOM’s documentation, it is evident that the junta is using the same policies of scorched earth, divide and rule as well as the four cuts strategy to deploy their villainous acts. The international community must be inspired by the will and power of the people and act with integrity and moral conviction on their behalf. There have been multiple calls by civil society organizations who are calling for diplomats and global actors to use their power to protect the lives of those inside Burma. It is imperative that they respond beyond words of condemnation but with actions that will finally make clear to the Burma Army once and for all that they are not above the rule of law and will be punished at the highest international level..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Foundation of Monland
2022-10-26
Date of entry/update: 2022-10-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 4.26 MB (Original version) - 72 pages, 4.61 MB (Original version) - 81 pages
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Description: "At least 68 civilians have been killed and over 2,100 houses in 64 villages torched by the Myanmar military and pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia in Sagaing Region’s Taze Township since last year’s coup, according to local People’s Defense Forces (PDF). Regime troops belonging to Division 33 and Pyu Saw Htee groups raided and torched more than 20 villages in the north of Taze in September alone, said Taze PDF. Pyu Saw Htee militia have a strong presence in Kantbalu, Kyunhla and Taze townships in Sagaing Region. Taze has been hit hardest by the junta’s arson attacks in Sagaing, and more than 10,000 people made homeless by them have yet to receive any humanitarian assistance from the international community and are in urgent need of emergency relief supplies, added Taze PDF. Five of the villages torched by regime forces were completely burned to the ground. Two Buddhist monasteries and a rural healthcare center were also razed. Ka Baung Kya Village was torched at least 12 times, while Chaungzon Village was torched at least seven times, according to Taze News, a group documenting junta atrocities in the township. One resident of Ka Baung Kya Village said: “My house was burned to ashes. I don’t have any supplies of rice or even any plates and bowls now. We had to flee frequently because junta troops often came to our village. We don’t want to see them because they arrest anyone on sight and torch houses once they enter the village. My village is almost ruined.” Some 200 junta troops guided by Pyu Saw Htee militia started raiding villages in the north of Taze on September 16. They reportedly killed two civilians and 12 resistance fighters and looted numerous houses during the raids. A member of Taze PDF said: “They torch villages to instill fear in people. But it has only fueled their desire for vengeance. Now young people are only eager to fight back. They are determined to fight until the revolution succeeds. It is fair to say that the revolution has reached the next level. Revolutionary spirit can’t be burned to ashes.” Displaced people need shelter, food, medicine and other emergency relief supplies, said an official from Taze Support Organization. “As it is rainy season now, they need proper shelter even if it is temporary. The assistance they are receiving locally is not enough. If they don’t receive supplies soon, they are going to go hungry,” said the official. Many villages were torched for no apparent reason as there were no clashes taking place near them. Over 20,000 people from 35 villages displaced by junta raids and arson attacks still can’t return to their homes. Internet access in Taze Township was cut off by the military regime over eight months ago. A Taze resident said: “I am lost for words watching them [junta forces] torching and destroying our ancestral homeland and we can do nothing about it. We don’t know where we can live and our livelihoods have been completely destroyed.”..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2022-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2022-10-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Inflation is Contributing to Rising Levels of Poverty in Southeastern Burma as Civilians Struggle to Cope Amid Worsening Uncertainty
Description: "Throughout the month of September, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) reported on the challenges being faced by civilians in Southeastern Burma. Amid increasing clashes and worsening conflict, the military junta has also weaponized the law to work in their favor. Despite being an international human right, those abducted, detained and charged by the Burma Army are being denied their right to a free and fair trial. The regime continues to deny family members any information about loved ones and has continued to fabricate charges in sham trials. In addition to the junta making a mockery of the rule of law, they continue to deploy strategies and activities which terrorize local populations. Across HURFOM’s target areas of Mon State, Karen State and Tanintharyi region, people of all ages and backgrounds are being targeted. On 2 September 2022, four young nursing students were arrested, and one of them was sent to ​a notorious camp known as the “MI detention center.” A witness described that these four young men were beaten and arrested by junta soldiers while the troops raided the hostels: “They came with no arrest warrants but complete lists of who they wanted and arrested four of these students.” They are still under investigation, according to friends and families. Another local civilian from Painnae Taw confirmed that in the last two days, junta forces have been checking the families’ registration lists and guest checks in some wards in Dawei downtown. Students, including young children, also continue to have education prospects threatened and undermined by the military’s presence in Burma. Parents are extremely worried about the uncertainties their children face at school given the heightened presence of the military junta. As a result, some University students in Mon State who have already passed their matriculation exam have chosen to put their studies on hold due to unsettled political agreements and security concerns. Top universities including the University of Medicine, Economics, Computer Studies and the Education Degree College institute are located in Yangon, Mandalay and Magway. As these institutions are located in cities that are very far from Mon State, parents worry: “Our child has a high enough score to join the University of Economics. However, it is scary to go to Yangon because it’s not peaceful there. I dare not send my child there. The current situation creates too much fear for me to send my child away,” said one parent from Mudon Township. A lack of alternatives means these students often attend local universities such as the one in Mawlamyine. Despite this uncertainty, the junta is putting pressure on schools to open despite security concerns. Approximately ten government schools in Kyaing Seiki Township, Karen State were forced to reopen despite security concerns. Due to the armed conflicts in the villages, most villagers have closed the schools since June 2022: “Even though armed clashes are ongoing, the junta council is pressuring our village head and school officials to open government schools in Nan Tie Tun, Pha Yar Ngar Zu and Daung De village of Kha Lae – Da Gon Dai area.” The junta issued the order to open schools, but the teachers, the parents, and the village administrators held a discussion. The security situation here remains unstable, so most teachers are afraid of teaching. “No one can guarantee the safety of students,” said a villager. Parents told HURFOM that they could not send their children to area schools due to the instability and fighting in the area with armed forces: “If we send our children to school, we have to worry about them for the whole day. We don’t even dare go to work for our own livelihoods. If something happens, we would have to rush to school to pick up our children. Can the military guarantee the security of the children? If not, we will never send our children to school,” said a woman from Daung De village. The junta forces have established bases at the Da Gon Dai Police Station and at nearby schools. A local news source also reported the Junta army placed active landmines on the school premises and put a ground-based artillery weapon in front of the school. The insecurity across Burma is widespread. It extends to all social and economic sectors which the military has completely obliterated. In all of these circumstances, it is the people who continue to suffer the most. Those who have fled Burma for their safety, including human rights defenders, are still facing challenges in neighboring countries. HURFOM Program Director, Nai Aue Mon, spoke to Southeast Asia Globe on the security risks faced by activists who are living in exile stating: “The situation on the ground is still horrible, everyday people are living in unstable circumstances.” Forced recruitment has also become a concerning issue across the region. More than sixty villagers were forced to flee their villages in Yebyu, Dawei fearing they would be abducted and forced to fight. Now, they are unable to return as the junta’s naval command seeks to expand their forces through advertising false promises of high pay and security. The military battalion conducting the forced recruitment is known as ‘Maw-Ra-Waddy-Naval Command,’ and operates under the management of Coastal Regiment Command in Ohn-Pin-Kwin, Yebyu, Dawei. Further, as another month passes, it is also a reminder of the inaction of the international community. Rather than take steps to hold the Myanmar military accountable, numerous United Nations bodies have instead signed multiple Memorandum of understanding with the regime. It is disappointing to see such a contradictory approach to human rights from bodies who have set international standards that they are failing to oblige by. HURFOM reiterates the calls of our networks and members in condemning the atrocities taking place and calling for urgent action. Situation Overview in Target Areas Karen State Locals in Karen State have reported worsening offensives between the military junta and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). Troops from the Light Infantry Battalion No. 545, led by Captain Soe Min Thu and the Police Officer, Tun Thin Oo, have committed human rights violations against civilians: “Since mid-September, we have been facing lots of movement restrictions which directly impact us. We have no chance of working outside the village. There is extortion and sexual harassment against young women in the village,” a villager from Taung-Kyarinn village, Kawkareik said. “It appears like the junta is generating money under the name of security,” he added. They have extorted many young villagers. In some cases, the villagers’ motorcycles have been confiscated and forced to pay 200,000 MMK to be returned. On September 13, troops indiscriminately fired artillery shells at the village. At least 14 houses were damaged, including a Buddhist monastery. Four villagers were injured. Among them, one Buddhist Monk was included: One of the village committee members said that: “Meanwhile, the Junta Army (LIB No. 545, 546, 310 and IB 22) deployed more troops to southern Kawkareik Township to conduct offensive against the KNLA B.6 and People Defense Forces. These militarization acts negatively affect the local inhabitants, including forced village sentry duties, unpaid labor, commandeering vehicles for their transportation, and porter services, looting,” a 25-year-old villager from Taung-Kyar-Inn, Kawkareik Township, told the reporters In addition, concerns over landmines planted in civilian areas pose serious threats to local livelihoods. At the moment, no one dares to go and work in their own village. Residents said a drone flew over a military base in Hpa-An, Karen State, and then the junta opened fire and abducted at least two innocent civilians nearby, according to eyewitnesses on September 16th. It was 8:00 PM and a drone flew over the LIB No. Armor Repair Unit. (151), which operated under the Military Council Division No. (22) in Hpa-an city Karen. Several indiscriminate gunshots were fired as the junta attempted to shoot down the drones. A source near the shooting described the arbitrary arrests: “An estimated 20 troops with guns pointed at the residents and grabbed two young men by accusing them of using drones and attempted to attack them. These young locals were ordinary civilians, and they were innocent.” Mon State Civilians in Mon State continue to live with the uncertainty surrounding the military’s midnight checks and raids. A group of approximately 30 members of the junta and militia groups, including members of the junta-backed village administration, have been conducting midnight searches in Ka Mar Mole village, in the Chaung Zone Township, Mon State. Villagers said they are worried about their safety. “We don’t know when they will come to search our houses. They’ve said they’ll search for drugs, but we’re afraid that they will give us an irrational reason to arrest us,” said one villager. The military has presented unsubstantiated claims to justify the night searches. The junta forces are alleging that members of the People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) are hiding in Ka Mar Mole village. They also claim that a Ka Mar Mole resident who is the biggest drug dealer in the village is supporting them. The military junta has also established many checkpoints where passengers traveling by car or motorbike are stopped and subjected to rigorous security checks. The hardships in Burma are even taking a toll on the soldiers of the military who are serving on the front lines, and are being exploited by upper military officials. The primary way this takes place is through loans attached with high interest rates, according to one source. Family members of the junta soldiers are dependent on the military salaries, which are not sufficient to cover the rising costs of basic commodities. Family members then have to borrow money from senior military officials who are charging high interest rates: “My husband is on the front lines and my family lives in the battalion. His salary isn’t enough for us, so we have to borrow money from captains. Then we are in debt. It keeps going round in circles,” said the wife of a private soldier. Meanwhile, the junta continues to abuse their power by extorting civilians for their money, property and possessions and even their time. Locals reported that in some villages in Kyaikmayaw Township, Mon State, the junta is forcing them to serve as sentries to protect their Administration Offices, schools and other community perimeters from attack. Although village security falls under the junta troops’ authority, the area’s ongoing conflicts have resulted in the soldiers forcing the local civilians to guard the villages and the junta-related departments and buildings: “They have been forcing us to take sentry duties for almost a year and a half. They ordered us to work for free. This is a form of forced labor.” said a civilian, age 45 who wished to remain anonymous. Inflation has made every day decisions impossible as villagers must consider whether or not they will risk their lives to leave their homes and try to generate an income amid the fighting and possibility of being arrested and detained: “We are scared of being stuck between the two sides who are fighting. During this time, I cannot find enough income to support my family,” said a local resident. Villagers living in not only part of the eastern Kyaikmayaw Township, but also in some villages located along the side of Attaran River have been forced to guard their towns for the junta. Indiscriminate firing and attacks are also threatening civilian security. On September 23 2022, at 2:00 in the morning, a young man from Kaloh village was shot and killed by the junta security troops in the village, Ye Township. Residents who witnessed the incident reported that the shooting happened during the curfew decree, which has increased fears. The deceased is 35-year-old U Naing Oo, a resident of Kaloh Village, who was shot while leaving his home: “When he was walking and crossing that road, he was shot dead by the deployed army” said another witness. He died on the spot due to the shooting. Naing Oo’s body was brought in a car and left at the village entrance. “Another case of losing a villager that will end like this without getting any justice.” a young villager expressed. These attacks are mounting and further indicators of the miscarriages of justice that are ongoing in Mon State. Victims are entitled to reparations and accountability. Tanintharyi Region The situation in the Tanintharyi region is continuing to deteriorate. In the last six months alone, the junta-backed courts have imposed orders on approximately 42 political prisoners in Dawei Prison, according to the sources from Dawei Political Prisoners Network. At least 30 are still facing sham, closed-door trials. Most of those imprisoned in Dawei have been unlawfully charged under sections 505 A and B of Penal Code Junta forces have been relentlessly arbitrarily arresting people. On 4 September 2022, three young people were driving a car in Nyang Yangtaung Ward, Dawei. According to the local witnesses, a group of police forces and soldiers were conducting a security check on a car and three people were arrested. The second source also confirmed that the junta checked and arrested the Honda Fit car driver and pointed the guns at the three men, forced them to kneel on the street and started beating them: “They were likely included in the list of arrest warrants, and that was why the three young men were taken. Their names and addresses are still being investigated,” a 50 year old man who talked to the reporters said. According to the HURFOM field research, there were about (19) civilians arrested in Dawei within a week, and only about (11) people were released by paying ransoms. The junta forces have also carried out their campaign of deliberately destroying civilian properties. In Kyun-Su Town, Myeik District, troops destroyed 14 houses and seized land plots: “They destroyed and took the land with no compensation. They justified it by saying that it was for building the electricity department compound and office.” The director of the General Administration Department and the person in charge of the electricity department were the ones who gave the orders for confiscating the land and removing the houses. The dates this occurred was between September 3 and 6 at Ward no.3, Kyun-Su Town. Reporters tried to contact one of the landowners, and she said most of the male heads of households living in these homes are currently working in the fishing boats. Some of them lived as day laborers in the plantation and orchards, and the rest of the family members found it difficult to move during the rainy season. The incidents happened while their husbands were away. A member of the destroyed family confided that there was no life security, no food, and now there was no place to live. The growing military presence has made villagers fearful to leave their homes. The junta forces have been patrolling around the villages with approximately 200 soldiers in the Kanbauk village, Ka Laing Aung township, Dawei. Villagers dare not travel or go to the plantations. At least five villages have been under the control of the junta. More than 200 soldiers are based there. Locals are worried. On September 9 at 9:30 PM, the joint forces of pro-junta militias and military forces (approximately 40 troops ) entered the Nyaung Zin village, Thayetchaung Township, Dawei, and fired discriminately at the civilians’ houses and harmed at least three women villagers. Three of them were shot in the shoulder and arm. Ma Thin Myint, Daw Moe, and Daw Aye Shin were wounded by the indiscriminate gunfire. The junta and militias illegally burglarized villagers’ locked homes by kicking them in. They kicked the door and forced it open. Homeowners were taken out at gunpoint. Nyaung Zin villagers have kept organizing silent strikes and threatened not to go on any more strikes, and if they went out again, they threatened to burn down the whole village. In the case of terrorist attacks and lootings, the militias and soldiers mainly enter houses with shops and take valuable things such as phones and gold items by force. Later that night at 3:30 a.m., a junta military council of Light Infantry Battalion #406, a convoy with 17 military trucks, entered Wa-kone village in Dawei Township by indiscriminately firing heavy weapons. Seven homes were destroyed. Villagers had to flee because of the attacks. The junta spent a night in the villages, destroyed things and stole the villagers’ belongings, including the motorbikes and valuable items. Released political prisoners are also being targeted. A previously detained activist in Dawei Prison was re-arrested at around 2:30PM on 12 September 2022, according to his colleagues close to him. Ko Myo Minn Oo, age 22 a student at Dawei University of Technology, was arrested when he came to his work in Khon-Win-Dyt Ward, Dawei. This is the second time he was arrested: “the first time was in May last year,” his neighbor said. “He spent about 6 months in prison in October 2021, but then he was freed and released.” On September 11, one of his colleagues, Ko Aung Wayan Tun, a student at Dawei University of Technology, was also abducted by junta security forces during a midnight raid in Dawei downtown. It is not yet known why they were arrested. The junta continues to violently abuse, beat, arbitrarily arrest, and destroy properties, and confiscate goods in Bawapin village, according to the villagers who are fleeing parts of Tanintharyi region regularly. A 50-year-old female villager, who fled with three children, said junta soldiers and their allied militias continue to commit illegal confiscation and destruction of villagers’ property. “Approximately 70 soldiers with full-armed forces and the local militias raided the village. After that, they arrested seven men and beat them. The villagers who escaped could not take anything with them. The soldiers picked up the remaining items they wanted and destroyed what they could not carry. It’s like a real battlefield.” Young men continue to be accused of being affiliated with local resistance forces. At least five young civilians were abducted for having alleged ties with the People’s Defense Forces in Dawei according to their friends, on the evening of September 22, 2022. Two detainees Maung Maung Lwin and Ko Thet, were natives of Yebyu township, and three originally from Dawei. These arbitrary arrests happened when a group of 10 junta troops and local pro-junta militias, raided Painnae-Taw Ward, Dawei: “Their motorcycles have been confiscated and the troops brought all five men to unknown places,” said a 45 year old witness. Nonetheless, young brave activists in Dawei are still pursuing peaceful protests despite the grave danger and numerous challenges in their areas. “We must continue raising our voices as the revolution is longer than we predicted. We are worried that the movement’s momentum will slow down.” Key Findings Inflation across all target areas has had a devastating toll on civilians who are unable to have their most basic needs met. Clashes have led to forced internal displacement in Burma as instability and tensions force people from their homes. Concerns have spread as the military junta begins to make decisions which would bar competing, democratic parties from the next election in Burma. The military junta has been trying to change/manipulate the numbers of constituencies. Motorcycles, mobile devices, and money are regularly confiscated and extorted from civilians at checkpoints stationed by the junta deliberately along key-routes. Civilians were forced to pay excessive bribes to retrieve their possessions. However, very few were able to afford the high costs. Torture remains rampant in Burma, and across target areas where innocent civilians are subjected to grueling, horrifying acts by the junta to extract information. The international community including UN bodies and ASEAN are not responding swiftly enough to the situation on the ground in Burma, which demands urgent attention and consequences for the junta. Military impunity remains deeply ingrained into the institutions representing the Tatmadaw, which only emboldens the junta to continue perpetrating human rights violations. Children have been targeted by the military junta, and deprived of their basic needs including medical attention, food, education and the right to live safely. The arbitrary arrests and unlawful detention by the junta are ongoing, as are warrantless raids and indiscriminate firing into civilian areas. Recommendations The Human Rights Foundation of Monland immediately calls for the following: ● A referral of the situation on the ground in Burma made immediately by the United Nations Security Council to the International Criminal Court ● Concerted and coordinated action by global actors for an urgently mandated global arms embargo which would prevent the free flow of weapons into the hands of the murderous junta ● Aviation fuel sanctions to put an effective end to the airstrikes in Burma which have contributed to significant loss of life, particularly among innocent civilians ● Targeted sanctions on military junta officials, as well as their families, which puts holds on their financial assets and possessions and undercuts their ability to do corrupt business dealings abroad..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Foundation of Monland
2022-10-01
Date of entry/update: 2022-10-01
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Description: "At least 1,000 people from Paletwa Township on the border of Chin and Rakhine states in western Myanmar have been forced to flee their homes, following fighting between the ethnic Rakhine armed organization the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military, according to residents and local aid groups. Fighting broke out near Ah Baung Thar, Hna Maung Dar and Ree Ma Wa villages on August 21. Clashes were still ongoing as of 30 August, with regime forces calling in artillery strikes. Some 1,000 people from around 190 households fled their homes in the three villages on August 24 because of the fighting. The majority are staying with relatives and friends. But around 300 of those forced to flee are staying at a cyclone shelter in Paletwa Town, said residents of the town. The largest number of refugees is from Ah Baung Thar Village, where 120 households fled. Another 70 households left Hna Maung Dar and Ree Ma Wa villages, according to the Raiki Community Development Foundation (RCDF), a local NGO. With no one left in the villages, there are fears that the refugees will go hungry as they are now unable to harvest their crops. “This is the time for people in the township to harvest their crops of yam, peanuts, sesame and rice,” said Salai Kyaw Shun, founder of RCDF. “But as they [AA and junta forces] keep fighting and the conflict area gets larger, the people are going to face starvation. We have no idea what we will do if the fighting intensifies,” he said. With transportation routes into Paletwa blocked by the military regime, the price of all goods has gone up and stocks are running low, said locals. “We no longer have any place to run away to. If the fighting gets heavier, we are going to starve,” said a 62-year-old man from Ah Baung Thar Village, who is now staying in Paletwa Town’s cyclone shelter. Before last year’s coup, fighting between the AA and the Myanmar military in Paletwa displaced some 5,000 people and was ongoing until November 2020, when an informal ceasefire was agreed. Now more and more clashes are taking place in the township, with civilians being killed or displaced. On August 24, a 40-year-old mother of three was killed in a landmine blast near Ah Baung Thar Village. Paletwa Township is of strategic importance to both the AA and the Myanmar military. Currently, junta forces still control Paletwa, with Light Infantry Battalion 289 deployed along the banks of the Kaladan River, the major waterway connecting Chin and Rakhine states..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2022-08-31
Date of entry/update: 2022-08-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "On a vacant patch of land in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state alongside the western flank of Myanmar, grass grows lengthy below the new solar. A home as soon as stood on this plot, although all hint of it’s lengthy gone. Mohammed, a 36-year-old Rohingya man, grew up in that home and lived there till 2012, when he and his household have been compelled to flee by a band of ethnic Rakhines wielding sticks and torches. That summer time mobs of Rakhine villagers and Burmese troopers razed Rohingya villages and killed lots of of individuals belonging to the long-persecuted Muslim minority group. Some 140,000 Rohingyas have been displaced within the melee and herded into camps, the place they’ve remained ever since. The pogrom of 2012 laid the groundwork for an even bigger bout of bloodshed 5 years later. In 2017 Burmese safety forces launched a marketing campaign of mass killing, rape and arson in northern Rakhine, in what the un has branded as genocide. Nearly 750,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh, the place they stay on the earth’s largest refugee camp (see map). In the last decade because the rampage of 2012 and the 5 years because the genocide of 2017, the Rohingyas have been topic to circumstances designed to empty the life from the ethnic group, in accordance with the un. Crossing over into Bangladesh afforded some respite, at first. Yet the Bangladeshi authorities has lengthy since begun to view the refugees as a burden. Violence within the camps is rampant, with a lot of it dedicated by the Bangladeshi safety forces. No matter which aspect of the border Rohingyas discover themselves at the moment, their expertise is identical: starvation and distress surrounded by barbed wire. The Burmese military, which has run Myanmar for a lot of the previous 50 years, started persecuting Rohingyas many years in the past. It first tried to drive them off their land in 1978, utilizing the now acquainted instruments of homicide, arson and rape. Its excessive command considers them Bangladeshi interlopers, with no declare to Burmese citizenship—as do many different Burmese. It enshrined that view in legislation 40 years in the past, turning the Rohingyas into the world’s largest neighborhood of stateless folks. It was not till 2012, nonetheless, that the federal government started to herd Rohingyas into camps. This segregation, along with the imposition of a matrix of repressive legal guidelines, which embody restrictions on marriage and having kids, quantity to a system of apartheid, in accordance with Human Rights Watch (hrw), an advocacy group. After the genocide of 2017, this vice tightened. Today a few fifth of the Rohingyas who stay in Myanmar stay in what Fortify Rights, a strain group, calls “modern concentration camps”. One unlucky resident, Hla Maung, lives cheek by jowl with 11 kin in one of many cramped shelters into which households are crowded. These buildings have been initially designed to final two years. Many have been badly broken by monsoons and flooding over the previous decade. In April some 28,000 Rohingyas have been residing in shelters deemed by the un to be structurally unsound. Because worldwide assist businesses should apply to journey to the camps two weeks prematurely, they can not all the time restore shelters instantly. “Living conditions are, by design, squalid,” noticed hrw in a latest report. Harsh restrictions on motion make life tougher nonetheless. More than three-quarters of displaced Rohingyas can’t go away their camps in any respect, in accordance with a survey carried out in 2015 by the Centre for Diversity and National Harmony, a Burmese ngo. The relaxation could journey, however solely to a Rohingya ghetto in Sittwe or to Sittwe General Hospital, the only facility within the state that gives specialised therapy. Medical referrals are granted just for emergencies and even then getting the required journey authorisation can take days. Access to well being care within the camps is proscribed. In the extra distant ones, docs go to for simply a few hours a couple of times per week. Rates of illness and youngster mortality are larger within the camps than elsewhere within the state, in accordance with the International Rescue Committee, an assist organisation. Those who can go away the camps should get a “village departure certificate” which prices as much as 5,000 kyat ($3.45). Sometimes safety forces demand travellers current an id card proving their citizenship, which most Rohingyas lack. All Rohingyas should go by way of quite a few checkpoints manned by troopers who demand bribes, and to go away they need to typically additionally pay for a “security escort”, which prices as much as 20,000 kyat. These restrictions forestall Rohingyas from working, making it troublesome for them to complement the money or meals assist they obtain from ngos, which residents say is inadequate for his or her day by day wants. For the roughly 300,000-350,000 Rohingyas who haven’t been herded into camps, circumstances are nonetheless dire. They, too, are not often granted permission to get therapy at Sittwe General Hospital. And although they proceed to stay in their very own houses, a mesh of restrictions hems them in as effectively. They aren’t allowed to go away their districts with out authorisation. Security checkpoints strewn all through their villages are manned by troopers who implement curfews (from 6pm to 6am) and guidelines limiting gatherings in public areas to not more than 5 folks. Violations of those guidelines result in beatings or detention. These circumstances seem calculated to carry concerning the “slow death” of the Rohingyas, says the un. Their numbers in Myanmar have dropped precipitously. Before 2017 the nation was residence to as many as 1.3m Rohingyas. (No dependable numbers exist as they weren’t included within the final census in 2014, the primary in 30 years.) Now the inhabitants is nearer to 600,000. Most fled to Bangladesh. But many are more likely to have died due to the grim residing circumstances. There are dismaying parallels between the experiences of Rohingyas in Rakhine state and people within the refugee camps of Bangladesh. At first refugees might work in surrounding cities, recollects Hakim Ullah, who has lived within the refugee settlement in Cox’s Bazar district since 2017. Now they want permission to go away the camps. Shops and colleges within the camps have been demolished earlier this yr by the Bangladeshi authorities, who’ve banned paid work and personal schooling. “The refugee camps have become detention camps”, says Rahamat Ullah, a Rohingya civil-rights activist who lives in Cox’s Bazar. Nor have refugees traded freedom for security. Militant teams and felony gangs working within the camps usually commit murders, kidnappings and robberies. Bangladesh’s safety forces do a lot of the terrorising themselves, in accordance with stories from human-rights teams. The Armed Police Battalion, the specialist unit answerable for safety within the camps, acts “with impunity”, says Ashraf Zaman of the Asian Human Rights Commission, a strain group primarily based in Thailand. The battalion has reportedly overwhelmed kids and raped girls. The Bangladeshi forces are so brutal, that they remind Mr Hakim Ullah of the Burmese military. (Bangladeshi authorities didn’t reply to a number of requests for remark from The Economist.) As lengthy because the Burmese military is in energy, little concerning the Rohingyas’ situation is more likely to change. “Life in the camps is worse than prison,” says Mohammed, who now lives in a camp outdoors Sittwe. At least prisoners know the size of their sentence. Rohingyas have no idea if they may ever be launched. Even if they’re, many would haven’t any residence to return to. The authorities way back bulldozed the ruins of homes like Mohammed’s, and offered the land to builders—making it simpler to take away each final hint of the group..."
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Source/publisher: Business Lend
2022-08-18
Date of entry/update: 2022-08-18
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Description: "This is the US Campaign for Burma’s eighteenth monthly On-The-Ground in Burma briefer! This month’s briefer will discuss the current situation of IDPs and refugees, as well as a Rohingya from Cox’s Bazaar sharing the personal and community losses since living in the refugee camps in Bangladesh. This month’s briefer includes: July highlights An in-depth analysis on the international community’s questionable relationship with the Burmese military Four major policy recommendations A feature story about the experiences of a Karen refugee since fleeing Burma to Thailand An overview of IDP issues and rights abuses in each ethnic state and central Burma As the conflict escalates in Burma between the pro-junta militias, anti-coup forces, and the military, so has the violence and rights deprivations in ethnic regions and central Burma. Without strong tangible action, the Burmese junta will continue to commit crimes against humanity with impunity..."
Source/publisher: US Campaign for Burma
2022-08-03
Date of entry/update: 2022-08-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
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Description: "In Kachin State, communities in prolonged displacement are seizing opportunities to restart their lives. Ndau La Raw, 46, is all smiles as he gives a tour of his new home of wood and galvanized iron. “Words cannot explain how happy I am. Life will be easier for me and my children from now on,” he says. Ndau La Raw and his family moved into their house in December 2021. They were among the first to relocate to Maina Sut Chyai - a new village in Waingmaw Township - set up by internally displaced people in Myanmar’s northeastern Kachin State. Most had been trapped in displacement since 2012 due to armed conflict between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF). In the local Kachin language, “Sut Chyai” means prosperity, a name chosen by its residents representing their hope for a better future after a decade of hardship living in a nearby camp. In 2018, camp residents seized the opportunity to start their lives anew when a landowner in the area offered to sell his land to them. Maina Sut Chyai was born after dozens of displaced families procured individual plots with their own personal savings as well as loans from relatives. Construction work commenced soon after with the Karuna Mission Social Solidarity (KMSS), a local partner of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, constructing houses for each relocated family. To date, 33 formerly displaced families have moved to the village while an additional 65 from the camp are expected move there in the near future. “Previously, we lived in a longhouse with 10 families and did everything there. It was hot, noisy and cramped … it was difficult for us to find privacy,” says Ndau La Raw. Today, his family reside on two spacious plots of land measuring 6,000 square feet with three interconnected structures. The main building functions as the family’s living quarters. Two smaller ones serve as a separate kitchen and a shop where his wife sells groceries. “The shop is my favourite part. It faces the entrance of the village where I get to meet other former camp residents who are now my new neighbours,” says Ndau La Raw. Prospects for return to their villages of origin remain slim for displaced people due to continued fighting and insecurity. Nevertheless, examples of displaced communities finding opportunities to move out of camps and into areas like Maina Sut Chyai, where they can better integrate, are increasingly common in Kachin State. Despite an escalation of armed conflict across Myanmar following the military takeover of 1 February 2021, more than 2,300 Kachin displaced people, out of a population of 95,000, have sought to rebuild their lives by relocating to 19 locations last year. “While not without their challenges, these community-led initiatives are a crucial first step to enabling communities to build a better future for themselves after a decade of displacement,” said Andrew Mok, UNHCR’s Head of Office in Myitkyina, the state capital. To secure a real future in Maina Sut Chyai, residents have been proactive in advocating for key infrastructure. Apart from constructing a hand pump well on their own to draw clean water, the community also sought the support of KMSS and UNHCR to install latrines. The village is also in the process of being connected to the electricity grid with electrical poles and lines gradually installed. Ndau La Raw remains hopeful about the future. Having taught himself carpentry skills, he hopes to set up a business making furniture. “I currently have a workshop in the camp. Once electricity becomes available in Maina Sut Chyai, I will build a new workshop on my own land and grow my business from there.” Maina Sut Chyai’s relative proximity to Myitkyina, on the opposite bank of the Ayeyarwady River, makes it an attractive place to settle. The city is a regional centre for education, healthcare and work opportunities. “My three kids were young when we were displaced. Two of my children attend university in Myitkyina. I hope to give them the best future so that they can take of themselves as well as me and my wife when we are old,” he says..."
Source/publisher: United Nations Myanmar
2022-08-02
Date of entry/update: 2022-08-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "JAKARTA – The Myanmar people are not receiving the humanitarian assistance they need as the crisis triggered by the coup d’état of February last year worsens, parliamentarians from seven different countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe have denounced, ahead of the fourth public oral hearing of their International Parliamentary Inquiry (IPI) on the global response to the crisis in Myanmar, to be held today, 20 July. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) puts at over 750,000 the number of people displaced by the violence perpetrated by the Myanmar military in order to cement their power since the takeover, bringing the total for the country the record number of over 1 million. Experts audited by the IPI in previous oral hearings have described a rapidly deteriorating situation, marked by a worsening economic crisis, an almost complete collapse of the health system and the systematic targeting of the civilian population by the military. “Time is rapidly running out to prevent the worst-case scenario for millions of people in Myanmar. But instead of increased attention to the situation, we are seeing the opposite: less engagement by regional and international actors, less efforts to lead the junta to the negotiation table, and a unconscionable shortfall of almost 90 percent of funding for the humanitarian needs of the country in 2022. Inaction must end now,” said Heidi Hautala, IPI Committee Chair and Vice-President of the European Parliament. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of June 2022, only 11 percent of the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Myanmar has been funded, “negatively affecting the breadth and quality of assistance delivered by humanitarians.” “The utter failure of ASEAN’s 5-Point Consensus should be clear to all, yet there has been no effort made to change course. Meanwhile, the international community continues to ignore evidence indicating that a primary reliance on ASEAN has not and will not result in an alleviation of the plight of the Myanmar people. Reliance on ASEAN is not a strategy, but rather a disingenuous deflection of responsibility by international actors which must stop in order for solutions to the humanitarian crisis to be found,” said Charles Santiago, IPI Committee Member, Malaysian MP, and Chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR). To address these and other issues, the IPI will hold its fourth hearing on the global response to the crisis in Myanmar on July 20, at 6 pm (Bangkok time), via Zoom..."
Source/publisher: ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights
2022-07-20
Date of entry/update: 2022-07-20
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Description: "Since late 2021, fierce fighting has raged between the SAC regime and Karen resistance forces in Dooplaya District (KNU’s 6th Brigade) on both sides of the Dawna Range, south of the Asia Highway, Burma’s main trade route to Thailand. Heavy shelling and airstrikes by SAC forces have killed or injured 71 civilians and displaced over 86,000, many of whom are sheltering in makeshift IDP camps along the Thai border. This briefing paper describes the unfolding of conflict, instigated by the regime’s incursions into KNU ceasefire territories, and fueled by mobilization of thousands of SAC troops, including from bases across Dooplaya which were never withdrawn despite the KNU’s 2012 ceasefire. A key flashpoint has been the Lay Kay Kaw "Peace Town”, south of Myawaddy, funded by Japan for returning refugees. This flagship peace project now lies deserted and bomb-scarred, its over 3,000 residents once again fleeing for their lives. This must serve as a lesson for Japan, not only against premature funding of refugee return, but also provision of billions of dollars in development aid to the Naypyidaw government without benchmarks of progress towards genuine peace. Japanese ODA has not only subsidized Naypyidaw’s war machine, but also funded strategic infrastructure projects such as the East West Economic Corridor (EWEC) which have facilitated quick deployment of the regime’s troops into conflict areas. As the SAC’s atrocities mount across the country, KPSN calls for stronger economic and diplomatic pressure on the regime, and urges Japan to suspend all ongoing ODA projects, including bridge building along the EWEC. KPSN also urges foreign donors to provide increased cross-border humanitarian aid to IDPs.....Post-coup eruption of conflict in Dooplaya...For nearly ten years after the KNU's 2012 bilateral ceasefire, there was little armed conflict in Dooplaya. However, as the regime began cracking down on anti-coup protesters in the months following the coup on February 1, 2021, tensions began to rise between the regime’s forces and the KNU in the KNU’s 6th Brigade, where anti-regime activists were sheltering. SAC troops set up new checkpoints along roads and carried out random searches in villages. In September, the SAC sent armed patrols into KNU territories south of Kawkareik, in violation of ceasefire protocols. On September 30, KNU troops resisted, and the ensuing fighting spread into six villages, causing thousands to flee their homes. At the same time, KNU troops sought to block the SAC from sending reinforcements along the road from Thanbyuzayat to 3 Pagodas Pass, and on October 11, the SAC attacked and seized the KNU’s Lu Shah checkpoint, 20 kilometers southeast of Thanbyuzayat. The fighting displaced four villages in the area.....Fighting erupts in Lay Kay Kaw "Peace Town", spreads southwards along Thai border...The “Peace Town” of Lay Kay Kaw south of Myawaddy, funded by Japan for returning refugees after the KNU ceasefire, was one of the areas suspected of harbouring anti-regime activists. At the end of September 2021, SAC troops from LIB 560, under Tanintharyi-based Military Operations Command (MOC) 13, deployed to Dooplaya before the November 2020 election, started carrying out house-to-house searches in Lay Kay Kaw, but did not initially make any arrests. However, on December 13, 2021, Brigadier General Myint Htun Naing, the MOC 13 commander, arrived at the SAC artillery base just south of Lay Kay Kaw and on December 14 led over 150 troops into Lay Kay Kaw, forcibly entering houses and arresting suspected activists. On December 15, the troops returned at 10 am, beating and carrying out further arrests. In total 22 men were arrested, tied up and taken to Myawaddy for interrogation, including two former NLD MPs. The fate of those arrested remains unknown. Local KNU officials immediately protested the arrests, but SAC troops ignored this, and continued searching through Lay Kay Kaw, causing the KNLA to open fire. Heavy fighting ensued, with SAC shelling indiscriminately into Lay Kay Kaw from nearby “Artillery Hill”, causing the town residents to flee in terror. Over the next few weeks, fighting between SAC and Karen resistance forces spread east and south along the Thai border, displacing thousands more villagers. On December 23, SAC started launching airstrikes over Lay Kay Kaw to try to dislodge the KNLA. During early 2022, fighting continued to spread southwards. On March 21, KNLA temporarily seized the SAC base at Maw Khee, 50 kilometers south of Lay Kay Kaw, and carried out successful ambushes of SAC troop reinforcements from Myawaddy, prompting further retaliatory airstrikes. On May 18, 2022, KNLA forces managed to seize the SAC base at Thay Baw Boe on the Thai border, 30 kilometers south of Lay Kay Kaw, despite multiple airstrikes by SAC fighter jets and helicopters..."
Source/publisher: Karen Peace Support Network
2022-07-19
Date of entry/update: 2022-07-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Displaced civilians living in war-torn Demawso Township in Karenni State have started building a clinic in their camp after rain made it difficult to seek medical care elsewhere. But they say they lack medical staff, medicines, tables and beds. “Right now we can only give people pills,” a woman in charge of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp told Kantarawaddy Times, on condition of anonymity. Another anonymous woman at the camp, where 1,000 people have sought refuge, said: “Currently, we’ve to walk at least 30 minutes to reach a clinic in another area. If you’re travelling by motorbike, you can easily be involved in an accident because the road is muddy.” According to the camp leader, they’ve asked the Karenni State Consultative Council as well as private donors and aid agencies to provide materials for the construction of the clinic, which started on 2 July. The civilian watchdog group, Progressive Karenni People’s Force, have reported IDPs urgently need health care service and medicines. Since the coup happened, at least 33 in the camps have died from various causes. Khoon Philip, the director of Civil Health and Development Network, said that babies and pregnant women died when they didn’t get medical care. “When pregnant women do not receive proper medical care during their pregnancy, the risk of stillbirth or premature birth and an underweight baby increases,” said a doctor in Burma, who asked that his name not be disclosed..."
Source/publisher: Kantarawaddy Times (Deemawso Township)
2022-07-07
Date of entry/update: 2022-07-07
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Description: "Around 5,000 residents from over 10 villages in Sagaing Region’s Tabayin Township have been forced to flee their homes after the Myanmar military airlifted reinforcements into the area. On Monday at around 4.30pm three helicopters carrying over 50 junta soldiers landed in a Tabayin village, forcing the residents to flee the same evening, according to local sources. A volunteer helping the displaced people said on Tuesday: “It was not convenient for travel as it rained the whole night. The temporary camps are crowded. People continued to flee their homes until midnight. People fleeing in their cars, motorbikes and motorized trailers formed a long line. There were unspeakable troubles.” Junta forces carried out airstrikes on July 2 after a memorial to mark the one-year anniversary of fighting in Tabayin’s Set Pyar Kyin Village which left over 20 resistance fighters dead. Regime troops have since been raiding villages in Tabayin. Clouds of smoke were seen in Kyauntawlay and Inpin villages on Tuesday. It was unclear how many houses were torched by military regime forces as villagers still can’t return home, said a resident. Regime troops stationed in Set Pyar Kyin and Boke villages reportedly used heavy weapons to attack resistance fighters advancing to the villages, according to a local resistance member. One resident said: “As they kill not only children but also elderly persons by burning them alive, slitting their throats and shooting them in their heads, people dare not let the soldiers see them. They flee as soon as they hear soldiers are heading to their villages.” Over 340,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Sagaing Region, as well as some 110,000 people in neighboring Magwe Region, according to the Institute of Strategy and Policy Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2022-07-06
Date of entry/update: 2022-07-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, today expressed his appreciation for Malaysia’s increasing leadership on the crisis in Myanmar, and urged States in the region to adopt a similar approach to the human rights catastrophe unfolding under military rule. “Too much is at stake for Myanmar and its people to accept complacency and inaction by the international community,” Andrews said in a statement at the end of an eight-day visit to Malaysia. “Junta forces have killed more than 2,000 civilians, arrested more than 14,000, displaced more than 700,000, driving the number of internally displaced persons well over one million, and plunged the country into an economic and humanitarian crisis that threatens the lives and wellbeing of millions. “The military’s attacks on the people of Myanmar constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes. No one has been spared the impact of the military’s violence.” Andrews said that even before the coup, the Myanmar military had committed atrocities against the people of Myanmar. “The Rohingya faced genocidal attacks by Myanmar security forces. I have learned that there are over 104,000 registered Rohingya in Malaysia who have fled from Myanmar seeking safe haven with untold numbers who are unregistered. “My mission here provided me with a unique opportunity to sit face to face with dozens of courageous men and women and children .who fled the horrors that have engulfed many areas of Myanmar, including those who have recently arrived in Malaysia. They provided me with firsthand accounts of what they witnessed or directly experienced. These stories, without exception, emphasized the terror that is raging across the country “A young woman told me: ‘You are walking on a path that you don’t know, towards a place you don’t know, and you could die on the way but you still go forward, because the persecution is worse behind you’. Those who fled Myanmar also told Andrews about the challenges they faced in Malaysia, citing fears of being sent to migration detention, insufficient education opportunities for their children, and instances of extortion by police officers. “Let me be clear, refugees from Myanmar are here because they were forced to come here. Their inability to return to their homes in Myanmar is directly linked to the military junta’s human rights violations and war against the people of Myanmar. It is impossible to address issues related to those seeking refuge in Malaysia and other nations in the region without directly and effectively addressing the crisis inside of Myanmar.,” Andrews said. Malaysia not only recognizes this fact, it has been willing, through the words and actions of Foreign Minister Saifuddin, to challenge ASEAN to reexamine their current policy on Myanmar, the UN expert said, adding that Foreign Minister Saifuddin had called on ASEAN to move from a policy of “noninterference” to, in his words, one of “non-indifference”. “Malaysia has given voice to the obvious fact that after more than one year, nothing has moved and since nothing has moved, more people are being killed and more people are being forced to flee the country,” Andrews said. He has not only called for ASEAN to engage with the Myanmar National Unity Government, he has begun engaging with the National Unity Government’s Foreign Minister Zin Mar Aung, Andrews said. “I look forward to working to support Malaysia’s foreign policy leadership on Myanmar, to affirm the human rights of a people under siege and to reduce the incredible scale of human suffering in Myanmar.” ENDS Mr. Thomas Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar; The Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity..."
Source/publisher: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Geneva)
2022-06-23
Date of entry/update: 2022-06-23
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Description: "Distinguished Vice-President, Excellencies, Since my last update to this Council in February this year, the human rights situation in Myanmar has continued to rapidly decline. Still suffering from the devastating consequences of the February 2021 military coup, the people of Myanmar remain trapped in a cycle of poverty and displacement, human rights violations and abuses. What we are witnessing today is the systematic and widespread use of tactics against civilians, in respect of which there are reasonable grounds to believe the commission of crimes against humanity and war crimes. Since February 2021, at least 1,900 killings by the military have been reported. The humanitarian situation is dire. One million individuals have been registered by the UN as internally displaced while some 14 million remain in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The military coup has crippled Myanmar’s economy, with millions losing their jobs or sources of income in the last year. The value of the national currency has plummeted, and prices of essential goods have surged. Internet shutdowns imposed by the military across large parts of the country, and the harassment and prosecution of journalists and individuals reporting on human rights have severely limited information flows and civic space. Nevertheless, my Office continues to monitor and document the scale and magnitude of violations on the ground. Excellencies, Despite the commitments made by the military to ASEAN, senseless violence in Myanmar has intensified, with scant provision for civilian protection or respect for international human rights and humanitarian laws by the military. Recent military operations in the south-eastern states of Kayin and Kayah, the north-western state of Chin, and the central regions of Sagaing and Magway have amplified the suffering of civilians. Local residents are often detained, and in some cases may have been forcibly disappeared or used as human shields. A well-documented tactic of the military is the burning of entire villages, residential buildings, schools, houses of worship, and other objects specially protected under international humanitarian law. Some estimate over 11,000 such sites have been burned since the attempted coup began last year. Food stocks and other basic supplies have also been destroyed. At the same time, the military continues to apply its so-called “four cuts” strategy to punish the local civilian population and to alienate those who refuse to accept their attempted seizure of power. I am deeply troubled by reports which indicate that the Tatmadaw is trying to militarize whole communities, by expanding its allied local militia organizations, and formalizing military control of police forces. My Office has also received reports that they have launched an initiative to enlist local fire-fighters, Red Cross workers and other public service groups into the security apparatus. In the face of such repression and violence, I respect the strength and resolve of Myanmar’s people, who continue to reject and resist the military and their attempts to assert control. Daily peaceful protests throughout the country and efforts to boycott services provided by military-run governmental institutions remain ongoing after almost 500 days. These peaceful expressions of dissent, however, are met with the continued use of arbitrary arrest and detention. Since 1 February 2021, more than 13,500 people, including politicians, media professionals, lawyers, civil society leaders and other members of civil society, have reportedly been arrested for opposing the Tatmadaw’s purported seizure of power. More than 10,500 remain in detention. Former detainees have reported the frequent use of torture and ill-treatment in military bases, police stations and other places of detention. Arrest warrants have allegedly been issued against another 1,900 individuals. In a recent concerning development, a military spokesperson announced the intention of executing four death sentences, including of two prominent democracy activists. Myanmar has not carried out court-ordered executions for approximately 30 years. I urgently call on military authorities to refrain from such a regressive step which would not only violate the right to life but will further set back prospects for political reconciliation. Excellencies, In Rakhine State, the situation is critical, with the Arakan Army and Tatmadaw seemingly on the verge of renewing armed conflict. Since last November, there have been regular ripples of violence between the two parties and public verbal exchanges have been increasingly hostile. Members of the Rohingya Muslim community are caught in the middle. There have been no concrete and systematic efforts to work with the Rohingya to solve the longstanding human rights abuses, discrimination and exclusionary practices that have plagued their communities for decades. Added to this, conditions in Rakhine State remain far from adequate for Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh, or for those who have been living in internal displacement camps in Myanmar for 10 years now, to return to their homes. Instead, the military has continued to use hostile and derogatory language to threaten and marginalize the Rohingya and to implement strict discriminatory limitations on their movement. In the past weeks, over 300 Rohingya have been arrested for traveling, what they call, ‘illegally’ outside their communities. Hundreds have been prosecuted and sentenced to prison terms up to two years for exercising their basic right to freedom of movement. On 21 May, another boat capsized near the coast of Pathein township, just south of Rakhine State, resulting in at least 17 deaths, many of whom were children. UNHCR has reported that since the beginning of the year, at least 630 Rohingya have attempted desperate sea journeys to escape violence, the vast majority women and children. Excellencies, The lives and future of Myanmar’s people are hanging in the balance. It is extremely disappointing to note that international efforts to rein in the military’s recklessly violent approach have been largely ineffective. The ASEAN five-point plan seems to have produced limited results to date since its adoption in April 2021. I urge ASEAN and its members to continue engaging with all relevant national stakeholders, including representatives of the National Unity Government and of civil society. Additionally, the military has been allowed to veto efforts to generate dialogue and political engagement. The National Unity Government of Myanmar - established by democratically elected leaders and with the vast support of the people - has been excluded from discussions. Today I call for sustained and concrete action by all parties to stem the violence. The targeting of civilians and the burning of villages must stop now. The protection of civilians is an absolute imperative, and access must be granted for vital humanitarian assistance to reach all communities. Any solution to this crisis has to be built on broad-based consultation with all stakeholders in the democratic movement and with ethnic minority groups. A climate in which productive political discussions can take place to advance this priority is urgently required. I urge all Member States, particularly those with the highest-level access and influence, to intensify their pressure on the military leadership. Available measures include placing increased restrictions targeting military-controlled financial holdings and business interests, and limiting their access to foreign currencies to restrict their ability to purchase military equipment and supplies. I also call for continued support to the efforts underway to pursue accountability for the ongoing and past serious human rights violations, as well as alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, through all available tracks. Myanmar’s future depends on addressing the root causes of this crisis. Its people deserve a return to democracy, an end to impunity and the immediate cessation of the systemic discrimination that has persecuted minorities – in particular the Rohingya - for decades. They are counting on this Council’s support. Thank you..."
Source/publisher: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Geneva)
2022-06-14
Date of entry/update: 2022-06-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Last week in the East Asia Pacific region, the Myanmar military continued raids and attacks on civilians across the country. In the Philippines, state forces continued to carry out operations against Islamist groups in Soccsksargen. In Papua New Guinea, election-related violence emerged in the run-up to the upcoming elections between 2 and 22 in July. In Indonesia, ethnic Papuans continued to demonstrate against the proposed creation of new provinces in Papua. In Thailand, civic groups continued to protest the government's Draft Act on the Operations of Not-for-Profit Organizations. In China, the government tightened control over political dissidents ahead of the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests. Meanwhile, demonstrations against COVID-19 restrictions escalated in China. In Myanmar, the military carried out raids and attacks on civilians across the country last week, continuing offensives in Sagaing and Magway regions. The military has cut off internet access and mobile service in several townships across the two regions as it carries out operations (Myanmar Now, 30 May 2022). In Sagaing region, the military fired artillery shells in Kale township, destroying houses and a monastery in which internally displaced persons (IDPs) were sheltering, injuring seven people, including a minor. The military also killed five unarmed village lookouts in Kanbalu township on 31 May. Meanwhile, in Magway region, it was reported this week that the bodies of six villagers were discovered near Kyauk Khwet village in Myaing township on 26 May with signs of torture and execution, including broken bones and gunshot wounds (Myanmar Now, 30 May 2022). The military abducted the victims for use as hostages and human shields two weeks prior, along with 34 other civilians from Than Chuang, Kauk Khwet, Bawton, and Baunt Bin villages along the border between Myaing and Pauk townships. Violence in Magway is both common and highly volatile; it is considered an area of 'extreme risk' by ACLED's Volatility and Risk Predictability Index (as are eight other states and regions in the country). In Yangon region, the military injured five teenagers when they rammed vehicles into a group of anti-coup protesters in Thingangyun township, before beating and arresting the protesters. On 1 June, an explosion occurred in Kyauktada township in downtown Yangon, killing a young man and injuring nine others who were waiting at the 35th street bus stop. The military claims that the deceased person was responsible for the explosion and briefly detained his mother and sister for interrogation (Myanmar Now, 2 June 2022). Local resistance groups released statements denying their involvement and claiming that the military was behind the explosion. They note that the type of C-4 explosives used in the explosion was unaffordable for any urban guerrilla groups to make (Myanmar Now, 3 June 2022). Meanwhile, the military indicated last week it would move forward with carrying out death sentences given to a former National League for Democracy lawmaker and a veteran democracy activist for their anti-coup resistance activities (Irrawaddy, 3 June 2022). The announcement was met with international and local condemnation (Irrawaddy, 6 June 2022). Local resistance groups warned of increased operations if the executions were to go ahead (Myanmar Now, 4 June 2022). According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), the military has handed down death sentences to 114 people, including two minors, since the 1 February 2021 coup for their roles in the resistance (AAPP, 3 June 2022). Salai Tin Maung Oo, an ethnic Chin student leader, was the last political dissident to be executed in Myanmar in 1976 under the previous dictatorship (Irrawaddy, 3 June 2022). In the Philippines, state forces launched operations last week against Dawlah Islamiyah militants suspected of carrying out recent bombings in Soccsksargen. During these operations, a Dawlah Islamiyah -- Maguindanao Group militant was killed in a clash with the military in M'lang town, Cotabato province, Soccsksargen. The military has marked the Maguindanao Group and the Toraife Group as the Dawlah Islamiyah factions responsible for the recent bombings in Soccsksargen (Sunstar, 2 June 2022; Rappler, 26 May 2022). ACLED's Subnational Surge Tracker first warned of increased violence to come in Soccsksargen in the past month. A number of Islamic State-inspired groups in the southern Philippines have been fighting under the name and banner of Dawlah Islamiyah during the past decade (International Crisis Group, 27 June 2019). This violence contributed to the 49% increase in violence in the Philippines in the past month relative to the past year flagged by ACLED's Conflict Change Map, which first warned of increased violence to come in the country in the past month. In Papua New Guinea, election-related violence surfaced last week in the run-up to the national elections scheduled for 2 to 22 July. In the Southern Highlands, on 2 June, unknown assailants attempted to assassinate a regional candidate of the People's National Congress. To bolster security ahead of the upcoming general election, approximately 5,000 military and police personnel have been deployed to the seven provinces of the Highlands region since March (Post Courier, 31 March 2022). The previous general elections held in 2017 were one of the most violent in recent history, with 204 deaths recorded during the election period (The Guardian, 30 October 2018). Meanwhile, in Indonesia, ethnic Papuans took to the streets to demonstrate against the revised Papua Special Autonomy Law and the proposed creation of new administrative provinces on the island, demanding a referendum on Papuan independence. In July 2021, the central government passed a revision of the Special Autonomy Law, a move which further strengthened the central government's control over Papua (IPAC, 23 December 2021). Demonstrations were dispersed by police in several locations in Papua province, including in Jayapura, Merauke, Timika, and Nabire. State forces also arrested dozens of people, claiming that demonstration organizers did not have permits (Kompas, 3 June 2022). In Sorong city, West Papua, police fired shots and tear gas at demonstrators after demonstrators burned tires. The latest demonstrations come after President Joko Widodo signed a presidential letter in mid-May allowing the parliament to finalize a bill that enables the creation of new provinces in Papua (BBC Indonesia, 20 May 2022). In Thailand, protesters from various civic groups held a second week of mass demonstrations in front of the UN headquarters in Bangkok to protest the government's Draft Act on the Operations of Not-for-Profit Organizations. Opponents of the bill argue that it would violate rights to freedom of association and freedom of expression since it would enable officials to order the temporary or permanent shutdown of any non-profit organization. They demand the cabinet agree to scrap the draft (Prachatai, 31 May 2022). In China, authorities tightened security last week to prevent any form of public commemoration ahead of the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests on 4 June. Dozens of political dissidents, rights lawyers, and advocates were taken on a so-called 'mandatory vacation' and held incommunicado by the police last week (Radio Free Asia, 31 May 2022). In Hong Kong, the government banned an annual candlelight vigil for the third consecutive year by pro-democracy groups. Police closed off sections of Victoria Park starting on 3 June and prohibited any solo vigils attended by individuals around the park (HKFP, 3 June 2022). Meanwhile, large-scale demonstrations against COVID-19 restrictions spread outside Beijing. On 1 June, thousands of residents clashed with police at a security checkpoint in Yanjiao township, a commuter town near Beijing (South China Morning Post, 2 June 2022). They demand the lifting of coronavirus controls that have restricted the ability of commuter workers to enter Beijing for months. Following the protests, authorities eased restrictions (South China Morning Post, 2 June 2022). The violence associated with COVID-19 restrictions contributes to the 180% increase in violence in China over the past week relative to the past month that is flagged by ACLED's Conflict Change Map..."
Source/publisher: Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project
2022-06-09
Date of entry/update: 2022-06-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "What is the 5W The “Who does What Where, When and for Whom” database, or 5W, is a tool which tracks the implementation of humanitarian and development projects to support coordination, planning and efficient use of resources. In Myanmar, the 5W is normally compiled by the Myanmar Information Management Unit every six months, based on reports provided voluntarily by contributing agencies. The MIMU 5W shows: ➢ which organizations (WHO), ➢ are carrying out which activities (WHAT), ➢ in which locations (WHERE), ➢ project status – whether planned, ongoing or completed (WHEN) ➢ project beneficiary focus (for WHOM) – whether focused on IDPs or other vulnerable communities. Summary The MIMU 5W Comparison report compares MIMU 5W results from 2020 to 2022, looking particularly at the impact of events in early 2021 on reported agencies’ activities. August 2020 to May 2021 saw a sharp reduction in the number of reported activities countrywide, with many activities suspended or ended: 25% reduction in agencies reporting in May 2021 than in August 2020, mainly NNGO (48%) and INGO (25%) (from 213 to 159 agencies). 25% reduction in projects reported countrywide (from 814 to 608 projects), with reductions mainly in Shan (107) and Yangon (91). A significant reduction in the reported ongoing activities (43,428 less activities), mainly in Tanintharyi (84%), Shan (east) (58%), Mon (57%), Shan (south) (55%) and Kayin (50%). A 10% reduction in the reach to village tracts/towns countrywide (from 87% in August 2020 to 77% in May 2021), mainly in Sagaing (13%), Magway (12%) and Rakhine and Tanintharyi (10% in each). October 2021 to March 2022 found an increase in reported activities by agencies, however it is still less activities compared with August 2020. 28% more agencies reported across all states/regions and all sectors except Peace Building/ Conflict Prevention, Infrastructure, DRR and Shelter. (from 163 to 209 agencies) 29,702 more ongoing activities with 136,446 ongoing activities reported in March 2022 compared to 106,744 in October 2021 – an unknown part of this may be due to less suspended activities as well as activities of 46 more reporting organisations. 7,488 less suspended activities were reported (2 % of total reported activities in March 2022 compared to 9% in Oct 2021). The changes are most notable in the Agriculture sector and in Ayeyarwady, Kayin and Mon (less suspensions), whereas there were more suspensions reported in Chin, Magway and Rakhine. There has been some resumption of activities since June 2021 – a further 16% of projects were reported as active (from 74% in May 2021 to 90% in March 2022), with 37,200 more ongoing activities around the country (resumed or new activities). Despite the similar number of reporting agencies in August 2020 and March 2022 however, there were still less ongoing activities and a higher number of suspended activities in March 2022 (6,228 less ongoing activities and 2,596 more suspended activities)..."
Source/publisher: Myanmar Information Management Unit (Myanmar) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2022-05-18
Date of entry/update: 2022-05-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "UNODC in Myanmar aims to prevent drug abuse, enhance access to community-based drug treatment & reintegration services, especially among vulnerable populations. "My son wanted to stop using drug, but we did not know how to help him, but through the advice received at the Rebirth Rehabilitation Service Center my son is now healthy and has got a second chance to build back his life better and I am really thankful to the drug treatment and rehabilitation services in the community," said U Naw Tawng, a concerned father from Myitkyina, Kachin state. Stories like U Naw Tawng’s show the impact of illicit drug use on people especially in vulnerable communities such as IDP camps and surrounding areas in Myitkyina, where UNODC continued to deliver and support community based drug prevention, treatment and services for people suffering from drug addiction problems. Illicit drug use is having a significant impact on people's health and wellbeing, and negatively affects the long-term prospects for an eventual return of the expanding numbers of IDPs to their home areas. Aiming to minimize the adverse health and social consequences of drug abuse in Kachin state's IDP camps and surrounding areas, UNODC’s experts work directly with and mentor volunteers in IDP camps to ensure people who use drugs can access health-centered services within their community setting. Ze Hkawng, an ex-drug user from Mawhpawng Lhaovo camp, overcame drug addiction with the help of community-based drug treatment and services programme. He has been trained by UNODC and is volunteering at the programme now actively. While screening risky drug behavior, he said "I was happy when I heard about the community-based drug treatment and services initiated by UNODC because I did not know how to get help to stop using drugs. The programme helped me to rid myself of the addiction and I am now healthy and happy. I think many youths like me need help, so I hope this programme will help them just like it helped me." Since October 2021, the program supported the referral of 30 clients to government, INGOs and NGOs run service centers based on the client’s needs such as methadone maintenance therapy, HIV testing, Hepatitiis screening, counselling services, as well as community based treatment and rehabilitation services in coordination and cooperation with relevant partners. To reach more people, UNODC has started to roll out hybrid online training of trainers to participants from local faith-based organizations, enabling them to pass on their knowledge on a community-based approach to drug dependence treatment and services to members of the community. With their new knowledge, they will be able to conduct training sessions such as the one organized by UNODC's field staff for volunteers (half of whom were female and have of whom were male) from IDP Camps in Myitkyina together with NGOs and faith-based organizations working on drug and health areas. The workshop improved the skills of the IDP camps volunteers to screen and refer people who use drugs to the community based services, while at the same time facilitating improved networking and coordination among services providers and the volunteers. Mrs. Hkawn Ra, a camp leader from Du Kahtawng camp, said that joining the workshops has provided them with information on the referral pathway for service delivery, not only in the camp but also to surrounding areas as well. Mr. Joseph, a camp leader from Manhkring IDP camp, agreed with Mrs. Khawn Ra and added that the training also provided urgently needed assistance to the volunteers in their camps who will assist with drug-related issues in the camp. The trainings are part of UNODC’s collaboration with NGOs and faith-based organizations working on drug prevention, treatment, harm reduction, drug rehabilitation and social reintegration services, aimed at strengthening capacities to provide community-based services in particular in IDP settings. In Kachin, the programme focuses on preventing drug use and addressing drug-related issues among people in IDP camps and surrounding communities in three selected area of Kachin state: Myitkyina, Waimaw and Mogaung. In line with international standards and a balanced approach to drug control as reflected in an outcome document during the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on the world drug problem, UNODC in Myanmar aims to prevent drug abuse, and enhance access to community-based drug treatment and reintegration services, especially among vulnerable populations..."
Source/publisher: United Nations Myanmar
2022-05-11
Date of entry/update: 2022-05-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "On 6 May 2022, His Excellency PRAK Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia as the ASEAN Chair’s Special Envoy on Myanmar, and His Excellency Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General of ASEAN in the capacity as the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Coordinator (SG-AHAC), co-chaired the Consultative Meeting on ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance to Myanmar in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in a hybrid format. The Consultative Meeting was initiated by Cambodia as the ASEAN Chair in 2022 in cooperation with the Secretary-General of ASEAN as part of the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC). The Meeting was attended by Ms. Joyce Msuya, Assistant-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator as well as high-level representatives from all ASEAN Member States, including Myanmar’s Task Force, UN Specialized Agencies, ASEAN External Partners, and relevant international organizations in Myanmar. The Meeting discussed three main points, namely 1) ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Delivery Arrangement Framework; 2) Addressing the Operational Challenges of the Delivery of Humanitarian Assistance, and 3) Framework for COVID-19 Vaccine Administration in Myanmar. On the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Delivery Arrangement Framework, the Meeting agreed that the AHA Centre, in close consultation with the Myanmar Task Force, will 2 identify states and regions for the implementation of this Framework. These states and regions include Kayah, Kayin, Magway, Saigang and Bago. In addition, with the approval from the Myanmar Task Force, the AHA Centre will facilitate request for access through this delivery arrangement and will propose a list of potential implementing partners. The Myanmar Task Force will also work with the National Solidarity and Peace-making Negotiations Committee to ensure that humanitarian assistance will be delivered to communities in Myanmar, including Ethnic Armed Organizations areas. More detailed plans to operationalize this Framework will be done by the AHA Centre and the Myanmar Task Force in due course. On the need to address the operational challenges, the Myanmar Task Force agreed to do its utmost ability to expedite the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and urge the AHA Centre and relevant agreed implementing partners to provide required documents in advance. Importantly, the Myanmar Task Force also reassured that safety and security of ERAT team members, staff of the AHA Centre and ASEAN Monitoring Team are its top priority and pledged to offer cooperation and support to the ASEAN Monitoring Team for it to be able to fulfil its roles in accordance with the executive paper adopted at the 54th AMM. Furthermore, the Meeting welcomed the Myanmar Task Force’s commitments to allow the AHA Centre to conduct the Joint Needs Assessment and implement Phase 2 in hard-to-reach areas. With regard to the proposed Framework for COVID-19 Vaccine Administration in Myanmar, the Meeting noted that the proposed framework will offer space for partners to jointly administer COVID-19 vaccines to those in need in a safe and timely manner. In addition, the AHA Centre and the Ministry of Health of Myanmar agreed to implement the Joint MOH-Partners Vaccination to Hard-to-Reach Areas Framework. Under this Framework, operational teams of 50:50 distribution between the Ministry of Health of Myanmar and partners will be deployed to administer vaccines in the communities in need. The AHA Centre, in consultation with the Ministry of Health of Myanmar, will identify and verify states and regions that need COVID-19 vaccine doses as well as the implementing partners to support the distribution of vaccine administration in Myanmar. The Meeting also welcomed the commitment made by the Ministry of Health of Myanmar to provide tax exemption and facilitate import of vaccines into Myanmar. 3 The Myanmar Task Force reassured the Meeting that it will do its utmost ability to ensure that humanitarian assistance and vaccines provided by ASEAN and partners will reach communities in Myanmar including Ethnic Armed Organizations areas, where internally displaced people (IDP) camps and affected communities locate, so that no one and no place will be left behind. The Myanmar Task Force also reiterated that it will continue the good works of the AHA Centre in Rakhine State to implement both the recommendations of the Preliminary Needs Assessment and Phase 2 of the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance to Myanmar. H.E. PRAK Sokhonn underscored that it is imperative to ensure that humanitarian programmes in Myanmar have a long-lasting impact in addressing pressing humanitarian concerns faced by the affected communities. He also encouraged the procurement, delivery, and distribution of humanitarian relief items, including COVID-19 vaccines, to Myanmar to be carried out in a timely, effective, safe, and non-discriminatory manner. He emphasized that access, safety, and security of all implementing parties, including the ASEAN Monitoring Team, have to be guaranteed. The Meeting also welcomed the much-needed high-level commitment from ASEAN and the United Nations in their joint response to the humanitarian situation in Myanmar and supported the effort to expand the AHA Centre’s Partners for long-term humanitarian assistance projects. The Meeting commended Cambodia for prioritizing the humanitarian efforts in Myanmar on Cambodia’s agenda during ASEAN Chairmanship this year. The Meeting looked forward to more progress in the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance to Myanmar framework based on the spirit of “One ASEAN, One Response” that would complement the implementation of the 5PC..."
Source/publisher: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia
2022-05-06
Date of entry/update: 2022-05-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: " The Burmese military junta’s systematic and widespread escalation of violence following its attempt to seize power on 1 February 2021, has created a humanitarian crisis that poses a grave threat to regional human security.  During 1 Feb 2021 – 15 Apr 2022, there were 10,786 armed clashes and attacks on civilians, more than in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, or Afghanistan in the same period. The junta has killed at least 2,146 and arrested at least 13,282 civilians. Those killed and/or detained include elected MPs, journalists, humanitarian workers, civil society members, and students. In the first 41⁄2 months of 2022 alone (1 Jan - 15 Apr), there were 3,134 such incidents involving air strikes, artillery shelling and other battlefield tactics, in every State/Region and the capital territory.  The systematic targeting of civilians, in addition to intensifying the humanitarian crisis, also amount to atrocity crimes that continue to drive up the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees from Burma. According to UNHCR, 614,000 people have been displaced since the coup attempt, adding to over one million people displaced by pre-existing armed conflict and abuses. These populations, further affected by ongoing attacks and blocks on humanitarian aid, are in desperate need of protection, shelter, food, water, medicine, and other aid.  Humanitarian need is greatest in border regions in Burma’s southeast and west, where conflict is particularly high relative to the population size, where the junta continues to block or destroy aid from others.  It is imperative for ASEAN members to facilitate cross-border aid, partnering with like-minded countries and organizations, in the interests of regional human security and its own credibility. The Burma military has a long history of violence against, displacement of, and disregard for the humanitarian needs of ethnic minority populations, particularly at the country’s borders. This was shown clearly in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020, when the military continued its widespread violence, gave minimal aid or blocked aid to border regions, and destroyed ethnic health checkpoints for detecting COVID. On 1 February 2021, the military attempted to launch a coup. It locked hundreds of parliamentarians—set to convene parliament that day—in their lodgings; put others under house arrest; and took others to jail. Since that time it has only increased its detentions and other targeting of politicians. It also responded to nationwide peaceful resistance with shocking violence, escalating attacks that have resulted in nationwide conflict. The intensity of conflict and attacks on civilians is not uniform. Although junta troops have torched villages and towns in central Burma, raided them, and arrested civilians there, the humanitarian implications of its onslaught have been worse in areas traditionally targeted by the military. The following maps show (1) raw conflict numbers by State/Region and (2) adjusted for population, mindful that the border zones already suffer a legacy of decades-long conflict and deprivation prior to the coup. Intensifying the humanitarian emergency and impeding humanitarian assistance The junta’s violence has had terrible consequences for Burma’s civilian population. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), as of 4 Apr 2022 there were 561,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Burma and 53,000 refugees from Burma who had been displaced after 1 Feb 2021, in addition to hundreds of thousands of people previously displaced. In other words, as of 4 Apr, there were at least 1.89 million displaced persons in Burma and just across its borders in neighboring countries.1 These numbers are likely significant underestimates, based on local reporting. The junta has worked to prevent others from providing humanitarian aid or healthcare to vulnerable populations. In June 2021, junta troops blocked aid for Karenni IDPs, and destroyed an ambulance bringing humanitarian aid to Moebye Township (Shan State). The ambulance reportedly contained 80 sacks of rice, medicine, and medical equipment.2 In July 2021, the junta reportedly allowed only around 450kg of rice to enter Mindat (Chin State) each day— not enough to feed residents—despite a ceasefire and humanitarian agreement.3 Junta troops have arrested volunteers for assisting IDPs in Chin, Karen, Karenni, Shan, Mandalay, and Sagaing States/Regions. 4 International NGOs have alerted the world that the junta was blocking aid and using systematic efforts to starve people and prevent them from accessing healthcare.5 Junta troops have particularly targeted Burma’s healthcare sector: As of 10 Jan 2022, there had been at least 415 attacks and threats against health workers, facilities, and transports; 30 health workers killed; 286 arrested or detained; and 128 attacks on healthcare facilities. This focus on the health workers stems from the perception that they began the civil disobedience movement.6 Junta troops have also targeted IDP camps and their populations, killing those in need and further preventing others from being able to help. In January 2022 in Karenni State, staff and patients fled a Loikaw hospital amid clashes and junta-imposed electricity blackouts;7 and junta planes bombed two IDP camps, killing at least six IDPs.8 Amid conflict in Karen State, junta planes bombed a hospital for the second time in January, and attacked refugee camps.9 Activists and vulnerable communities from urban areas and central Burma have also fled to border areas, where they seek refuge from the junta’s terror. These populations join those in need in border areas, and their presence has also served as a pretext for further junta military attacks, such as those in Lay Kay Kaw, Karen State,10 which have displaced over 10,000 people. The scope of need – up by 1,300% As a result of these actions, along with the junta’s mishandling of the economy and the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people are living hand to mouth, in intense insecurity. In December 2021, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that 14.4 million people in Burma would need humanitarian assistance in 2022, a 1,300% increase from its prediction for 2021.11 While need is high nationwide, the severity of need is highest in border regions. According to OCHA, by December 2021 there were 526,000 IDPs in “extreme” need, across the southeast (Southern Shan, Karenni, Eastern Bago, Karen, Mon, and Tanintharyi), northwest (Chin, Sagaing), northeast (Kachin, Northern Shan), as well as in Magway and Rakhine. Since that time, over 5,000 people have crossed the border into Thailand, and many have sought shelter on either side of the Moei river, which divides the two countries;12 the UNHCR and Thai officials estimated in April 2022 that 17,000 people had crossed into Thailand since February 2021.13 Furthermore, the enormous number of people in need even in areas fully under junta control demonstrates that the junta is either unwilling or unable to meet people’s basic needs. Numerous challenges prevent delivery of humanitarian aid within Burma. From the OCHA report: While international and local humanitarian organizations [...] have stayed and delivered during the recent crises, attacks on health workers and severe access constraints (particularly in conflict areas) are resulting in unmet needs with a multiplier effect into 2022. A number of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and International Non-Government Organizations (INGOs) ...had their offices raided, materials confiscated and leaders arrested. Disregard for human rights and international humanitarian law by parties to the conflict is becoming increasingly common, and the operating environment for humanitarian workers has worsened with continued attacks on health and education facilities and personnel [...].14 Community-based and border-based organizations part of the solution Non-governmental health organizations already have infrastructure for healthcare delivery, and have ably provided healthcare in border areas for decades, including emergency public health responses to displaced persons during the pandemic. They coordinate through the Ethnic Health Committee (EHC), comprised of independent Community-Based Health Organizations (CBHOs) and Ethnic Health Organizations (EHOs) under the structure of ethnic organizations such as the Karen National Union (KNU), Karenni National Peoples’ Party (KNPP), New Mon State Party (NMSP), Shan State-based, and Burmese groups. Ethnic health providers have already played a key role in responding to the pandemic, and are now organizing vaccine distribution in ethnic areas. The Chin National Front started administering Covishield vaccines on 15 Aug 2021. The New Mon State Party opened five temporary medical centers and 18 checkpoints in the areas it controls, and is reportedly conducting a vaccination campaign. With the help of the Chinese Red Cross, the Kachin Independence Organization has vaccinated at least 20,000 people, and the Shan State Progress Party has similarly vaccinated over 3,000 people. Civilian and humanitarian aid groups have shown they are serious about combating COVID-19, as well as poor healthcare generally, and could make significant progress with additional funds. The National Unity Government (NUG)—Myanmar’s civilian government—has created a National Health Committee and a National-Level Commission on COVID-19, and established itself as a willing liaison between foreign donors and local communities. ASEAN can lead the way in facilitating aid, but this must involve cross-border assistance. Otherwise, the bloc risks undermining a multi-stakeholder approach and making its intervention dangerously political and one-sided – aligned with the junta which has been the root cause of this threat to regional human security. Cross-border aid essential In light of the desperate humanitarian situation in and outside of Burma, and conflict-related and other junta-imposed impediments to providing in-country assistance, it is critical that foreign states and organizations facilitate the flow of cross-border aid. Furthermore, sole reliance on cooperation with the junta would be misguided and inexpedient, and would exacerbate pre-existing humanitarian gaps in Burma. The military has proven time and again that it is not a responsible steward of humanitarian aid or any other assistance for the people of Burma. Its presence, even alongside foreign aid providers, is likely to frighten communities, and the junta is liable to use aid as a means to further securitization and commission of atrocity crimes.15 It is notable that Adelina Kamal, former Executive Director of the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance (AHA) Centre, is among the loudest voices calling for ASEAN, Burma’s neighbors, the UN Special Envoy on Myanmar, and other international actors to support humanitarian aid that goes through non- state actors in Burma, such as community-based health organizations.16 Funding already exists for cross-border aid. On 10 Aug, the US Department of State announced an aid package of more than US 50 million to provide life-saving protections, food and shelter, health care, WASH, and support to people being persecuted and displaced in Burma.17 On 12 Aug, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield met virtually with Dr Cynthia Maung—head of the NUG’s COVID-19 Task Force—to discuss US contributions to the COVID-19 relief effort.18 In October 2021, 397 local and allied groups co-signed a letter, calling on International Financial Institutions (IFIs) to repurpose hundreds of millions of dollars in frozen Burma aid to support effective COVID-19 assistance for border-based ethnic communities and prisoners in Burma.19 The first step forward towards a sustainable solution to strengthen community resilience and significantly mitigate the crisis’ destabilizing impacts on the ASEAN region, would be to restart and scale up cross-border aid programs that were present on that Thai-Burmese border in the 1980s – 2000s. It is imperative that the management and implementation of such efforts be organized with the inclusion of and implementation by community-based organizations that already have the trust and cooperation of affected communities on the ground..."
Source/publisher: ALTSEAN-BURMA
2022-04-26
Date of entry/update: 2022-04-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 572.77 KB
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Sub-title: After three years of conflict in Rakhine State, internally displaced people (IDPs) face many challenges. Due to the armed conflicts between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and the Arakan Army (AA) lasting from late 2018 to November 2020, many still live in makeshift shelters across the state.
Description: "People in Need (PIN) continues to deliver humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected populations in Rakhine State. Before the rainy season begins, it is essential to maintain and repair makeshift shelters. With financial support from the Myanmar Humanitarian Fund (MHF), PIN provided emergency shelter kits to 750 households, alongside shelter kits provided by UNHCR. Additionally, PIN provided 235 collective shelter sets to 11 internal displacement sites in Mrauk U and Kyauktaw townships, Rakhine State in 2021. Urgent requirements for sheltering U Ba Kyaw, a site leader at the Pya Hla IDP site in Mrauk U township, shares his concerns regarding the accommodation of IDPs sheltering there, “Our shelters are made of bamboo and tarpaulin, created in previous years as a temporary measure. Most of our shelters at the Pya Hla site where more than 900 people are sheltering are damaged and IDPs are facing difficulties living there. Among them, 50 households urgently need to reconstruct their entire home.” said U Ba Kyaw. “Before the rainy season, at least 50 households returned to their villages in Pauktaw township, but most of them returned soon after because Myanmar military troops are residing near their village. They are afraid and do not dare go back again.” He adds, “PIN distributed shelter kits and other necessities aids to us, it was very helpful. Pya Hla site is now sheltered in the compound of a Buddhist monastery. Some houses moved outside of the monastery compound and were rebuilt again. We need more support for shelters. However, international organisations and UN agencies provide us with shelter, food, and cash distributions. Thank you to these organisations and donors for supporting us.” PIN plans to support these needs by distributing an additional 230 emergency shelter kits to 9 displacement sites in 2022 with support from MHF. Shelter and NFI materials support for IDP sites Rakhine state is part of the most disaster-affected areas in Myanmar. It is regularly impacted by cyclones and floods, and displaced people are most vulnerable. During the rainy season, most IDPs are facing challenging living conditions in IDP sites. Temporary shelters, built in early 2019, need immediate repair or reconstruction. IDPs in these sites are reliant on aid assistance provided by international and national organisations. Daw War War Naing, a mother of three who lives in Wet Hla IDP site, Mrauk U township, says, “Our house needs to be repaired before the rainy season comes. We already face difficulties and prices are skyrocketing. We cannot afford to buy wood and bamboo to rebuild the house. That is why we are waiting for the shelter kits from international organisations and relevant governmental officials. Last year, PIN provided shelter kits that were useful for us. However, we need to repair or rebuild soon.” Daw Yin Nu Sein, a 62-year-old woman, lives at the Wet Hla IDP site with her granddaughter. She already rebuilt her small hut by borrowing money because it was destroyed by strong winds and weather. “I cannot wait until assistance comes because my small hut was already damaged. Even though I do not have money to rebuild the house, I borrowed it from others at high rates. This small hut cost 80,000 kyats (USD 50). Regardless of borrowing money, I was afraid that if heavy rain and strong winds came, we could not stay at our hut.” she explains. In 2022, PIN address the essential needs of IDPs as per their requests. Together with shelter kits supported by UNHCR, PIN distributes additional shelter kits, which include traditional building materials such as bamboo, myaw post, and thatching/nipa palm leaves for 9 targeted IDP sites in Mrauk U township, Rakhine State..."
Source/publisher: People in Need (People in Need)
2022-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2022-04-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The number of Myanmar people displaced by fighting between resistance forces and the Myanmar military in anti-regime strongholds in the west and northwest of the country has exceeded 300,000 ‘for the first time’ since last year’s coup. The United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest humanitarian update on Myanmar that, as of April 11, 346,000 of the 566,100 people displaced since the military takeover are from Chin State and Sagaing and Magwe regions in the west and northwest of Myanmar. “For the first time, displacement in the northwest has exceeded 300,000 people,” the OCHA report said. Since mid-2021, resistance groups have flourished in Chin, Sagaing and Magwe, inflicting severe casualties on military regime forces. The junta continues to struggle to control those regions, with several dozen People’s Defense Forces attacking military outposts, convoys, police stations and collaborators on a daily basis. In response, regime troops have torched villages, accusing their residents of sheltering resistance fighters. At least 8,262 houses and other civilian properties, including churches, monasteries, schools and markets have reportedly been either burned down or destroyed, mainly in Sagaing and Magwe regions and Chin and Kayah states, the report said. OCHA added that the regime’s use of heavy weapons, including airstrikes and artillery, as well as landmines and the presence of unexploded ordinance, continues to claim lives and pose risks to the safety and security of the civilian population. “Since the military takeover, at least 1,600 people, including over 100 children, have been killed, and thousands injured or maimed,” the report stated. Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children have fled their homes for safety since the February 2021 coup, with many of them forced to move multiple times, exposing them to grave protection risks. As of 11 April, 2022, the total number of displaced people in Myanmar reached 912,700, according to UN figures. In addition, it is estimated that 34,500 Myanmar people are displaced in India and another 1,600 are displaced in Thailand..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2022-04-21
Date of entry/update: 2022-04-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Statement by The International Karen Organisation The International Karen Organisation condemns the Burmese military’s airstrikes and heavy artillery strikes in Kawthoolei (Karen State) on Myanmar Armed Forces Day (also known as Burma Revolution Day) on 27th March. The airstrikes took place once in Mutraw and twice in Dooplaya Districts. On Sunday 27 March 2022, at around 2am, 2 fighter jets from the Burmese military dropped 4 bombs in Day Bu Noh village, Lu Thaw Township, Mutraw District damaging some houses and buildings. This is the same village that faced Burmese military airstrikes on the same day last year, which were the first airstrikes in Karen State in 25 years. On the same day, the Burmese military conducted 2 rounds of airstrikes in Dooplaya at around 1:30pm and 5:10pm, around Bler Doh village near Thay Baw Boe, in Kawtaree (Kawkareik) Township. The day before, the Burmese military launched airstrikes in Oo Gray Kee area, destroying villagers’ houses. The Burmese military is also using heavy artillery and indiscriminately bombing civilian villages in the area, causing more displacement and a humanitarian crisis. The Burmese military’s indiscriminate bombings of civilian targets are violations of international law, constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity, and there must be accountability for their international crimes. Currently, we estimate there are around 150,000 displaced civilians in Karen State alone and they are in desperate need of food, medicine and shelter. The majority are displaced because of airstrikes or can’t return home because of the threat of airstrikes. We appeal to the international community to provide more humanitarian aid for the displaced civilians and for international NGOs to work with local Karen organisations for aid delivery through cross-border assistance, and to relax unreasonable sourcing and reporting requirements, which are impossible to meet when delivering cross border aid to a conflict zone. We welcome new sanctions targeting the Burmese air force imposed last week by the UK, USA and Canada. We call on them and the European Union to help stop Burmese military airstrikes by imposing sanctions to stop aviation fuel supplies to Burma. If the jets can’t fly, they can’t bomb. We are also calling for sanctions on Burmese companies involved in the supply of aviation fuel to the Burmese military and sanctions to stop international companies being involved in any aspect of the supply of aviation fuel to the Burmese military. Those companies involved in the supply of aviation fuel to the Burmese military are complicit in the bombing of civilians and violations of international law. We call on the Royal Thai government to stop pushing refugees back to conflict zones in Burma and allow them to stay in Thailand until it is safe for them to return home..."
Source/publisher: "Burma Campaign UK" (London)
2022-03-28
Date of entry/update: 2022-04-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "SITUATION AT A GLANCE 6.2 MILLION People Targeted for Humanitarian Assistance in Burma UN – January 2022 558,000 People Displaced Since February 2021 Who Remain IDPs in Burma UNHCR – March 2022 126,000 IDPs Originally Displaced in 2012 in Rakhine State IDP Sites UN – December 2021 1.5 MILLION People in Need and Targeted by 2022 Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis JRP UN – March 2022 923,179 Estimated Number of Refugees in Bangladesh UNHCR – February 2022 More than 558,000 people remain displaced throughout Burma as of March 28 due to escalating violence since February 2021, representing the greatest level of displacement since the coup d’état in the country to date. The UN releases the 2022 Bangladesh JRP on March 29, requesting $881 million to reach nearly 1.5 million individuals with humanitarian assistance during the year. The USG announces more than $152 million in additional funding to support the Burma and Bangladesh regional humanitarian response..."
Source/publisher: United States Agency for International Development (Washington, D.C.) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2022-04-01
Date of entry/update: 2022-04-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "In a recent return to Mindat to help people displaced by fighting in Chin State, we saw communities helping each other – carrying food, providing shelter, sharing meals. But relying on others is not always easy. As part of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) support team in early March, Ma Thiri Aung remembers meeting a young mother whose family farmed for a living before the clashes changed everything. "The violence meant they were now displaced, with no jobs, no way to get food, relying only on assistance from others," Ma Thiri Aung says. "This mother wanted to go back home, where her family could support themselves." Ongoing armed conflict means people in Chin State continue to face the ordeal of having to leave their homes in search of safety. Thousands of people have been displaced as a result of fighting in recent months. Mindat is too high up in the mountains to cultivate rice, relying on food transports from other parts of Myanmar. But ongoing clashes make travel less safe – roads are mined or bridges damaged – threatening food supplies. "When communities hear the Red Cross are coming, their main hope is rice," says Aye Thantar Tun, who led the ICRC team. Over nine days in early March, we worked alongside the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) to distribute much-needed food and other essential items to nearly 2000 people – including rice, oil and salt needed for cooking. In the monasteries and churches of Mindat where people are seeking shelter, we supplied families with basic rations, hygiene supplies, materials for shelter construction and information to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks. As clashes continue across Chin State, we also talked with communities about the risks posed by landmines and other explosive hazards. We worked with the community to make sure awareness of these threats would be accessible to all – putting up billboards and sharing educational cartoons for children. From Mindat, the sound of clashes can sometimes be heard in this former tourist town. Being surrounded by violence, and displaced, can leave invisible scars. Going forward, supporting mental health care is also crucial. "Even as people spoke, I could hear their worries in every sentence," says Aye Thantar Tun. "They have been traumatized by what's going on." While responding to existing needs, we also need to plan for futures ones. Surrounded by mountains, Mindat is very cold in winter and very hot in summer. In the rainy season, it is also prone to landslides. This exposure to the elements, endangers safe and sustainable access to water – via water pipelines already damaged by fighting – as well as to supplies of food and medicine as roads risk becoming blocked. Operating alongside our ICRC teams, a mobile health clinic, run by the MRCS, has proved a crucial way of ensuring people have access to medicine despite these overlapping challenges of access. The humanitarian needs of people impacted by fighting in Chin State continue to grow. Together with the MRCS, so will our support. We hope to return to Mindat again soon – to continue helping those in greatest need..."
Source/publisher: International Committee of the Red Cross (Geneva) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2022-03-25
Date of entry/update: 2022-03-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "March 24 is observed as the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims, marking the day Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero of El Salvador was assassinated on March 24th, 1980 for denouncing violations of human rights. The military coup in Myanmar/Burma on February 1st, 2021 exacerbated the number and intensity of gross human rights violation across the country. Since the military seized power, civilians have become victims of arbitrary arrest, torture, targeted and indiscriminate killing, airstrikes, shelling and other violent abuses at the hands of the Burma Army. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, 1,687 civilians have already been killed since the coup, though the number is likely much higher. Across the country, over 800,000 civilians are displaced and living under constant threat to their physical security and mental health[1]. Those who have become victims still await justice, while their perpetrators are yet to be punished and continue to commit further human rights violations. On the other hand, State Administration Council is continuing to commit human rights violation with impunity and there is no accountability from any perpetrator. In Southeast Burma where armed conflict has been happening for more than seven decades, local communities are subjected to widespread human rights violations, especially by armed actors. The ethnic minorities in Southeast Burma has been systematically targeted and attacked by the Burma Army. According to KHRG’s documentation, the majority of the victims of human rights violations or their families have never received remediation for what they have suffered due to the culture of impunity within armed groups, especially within the Burma Army. The Burma Army has been committing forced disappearance, rape, murder, torture, the deliberate destruction of civilian property, and other forms of human rights abuses without facing any repercussions, whereas the victims and families of the victims have had to endure the long-lasting impacts of the abuses. Since the coup, conflict has escalated again in Southeast Burma and dozens of villagers have been killed by airstrikes, shelling, landmine explosions, and other forms of violent attacks, including while being used as human shields. Civilians have also been systematically used as forced labour by the Burma Army. While accountability for past abuses has not been realised, further abuses are being committed by the Burma Army. KHRG calls upon the international community to take resolute action against the Burma Army, its military-owned businesses, and any entity that works with the Burma Army in an effort in diminish human rights abuses in Burma, end military impunity, restore accountability and justice, and assist victims of gross human rights abuses. The countless victims of human rights violations and their families deserve and have the right to know the truth, receive justice, and be able to live their lives with dignity. The penetrators must be held accountable for the violations they have committed during both times of war and peace. It is the responsibilities of all to ensure the right to the truth concerning gross human rights violations and the dignity of victims. KHRG would like to acknowledge those who have suffered human rights violations and victims who continue to wait for justice. KHRG also pays tribute to those who have suffered or lost their lives while striving to raise awareness to human rights violations in Burma..."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group
2022-03-24
Date of entry/update: 2022-03-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "During 1–25 Feb, there were at least 741 armed clashes and attacks on civilians (or 29.64 per day), compared to 23.69/day over the prior twelve months. UNHCR said that 810,000 IDPs in Burma, likely a significant underestimate. As of 28 Feb, the junta had arrested at least 12,417 civilians, including politicians, activists, and journalists, and killed at least 1,869 civilians. COVID-19 cases spiked dramatically. The EU placed sanctions on Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). As new ASEAN Chair, Cambodia prevented the junta from attending the first ASEAN meeting of 2022, but conceded that it could do little to improve the situation..."
Source/publisher: Asia Democracy Network, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, Burma Human Rights Network, Initiatives for International Dialogue, International Federation for Human Rights, Progressive Voice, and US Campaign for Burma
2022-03-02
Date of entry/update: 2022-03-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 757.82 KB
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Description: "About UNHCR Since 1950, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has led international action to protect people forced to flee because of violence, persecution, war or disaster at home. Our work is entirely humanitarian and non-political, guided by the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. UNHCR’s primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and wellbeing of people who have been forced to flee. Together with partners and communities, we work to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another country. UNHCR also protects and assists internally displaced people (IDPs) as well stateless persons. These groups are collectively known as our persons of concern. In more than seven decades of existence, the organization has helped tens of millions of people globally restart their lives. In Myanmar, UNHCR has been present since 1993 and maintains an operational presence of over 200 staff at 10 locations nationwide. Today, we care for the needs of over 1.2 million persons of concern in Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine and Shan states as well as Bago, Magway, Sagaing and Tanintharyi regions. By collaborating closely with partners such as sister UN agencies, international and local NGOs as well as local communities, UNHCR plays a key role in the provision of life-saving interventions, particularly in the areas of assistance coordination, services to mitigate protection risks and delivery of emergency relief in the form of non-food items such as shelter, blankets and household goods. We also advocate for the fundamental human rights of persons of concern and host communities, and work towards sustainable solutions that ensure people have a safe place to call home and build a better future in cohesive and resilient communities..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2022-02-23
Date of entry/update: 2022-02-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf pdf
Size: 1.62 MB 1.52 MB
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Description: "This Real-Time Report is part of the Diaspora Emergency Action & Coordination Initiative (DEMAC) "Research study on diaspora humanitarian response and engagement". The Real-Time Report investigates from November 2021 - January 2022 how Myanmar diaspora organizations engage with the current crisis in Myanmar, how they mobilize funding, what their advocacies are and who they partner or coordinate with on the ground to support the people most in need of humanitarian assistance. DEMAC, together with external consultants, undertook an initial rapid review to map the structures and activities of 30 diaspora organizations involved in the response. Semi-structured interviews with 21 people representing diaspora organizations, international humanitarian organizations and people affected by the crisis were conducted. Social media posts from the Facebook accounts of 30 diaspora organizations were also monitored over a six-week period. The Myanmar Context In February 2021, the Myanmar military, the Tatmadaw, seized power through brutally repressing the population, resulting in a “deep human rights, humanitarian, and economic crisis”. The crisis is compounded by deepening economic recession, the global pandemic, health system collapse, and surging poverty and food insecurity. As of 6 December 2021, this crisis had already displaced 284,700 people across Myanmar. A further 25,000 refugees have been displaced to neighboring countries. The UN has documented over 1,000 civilians killed and 8,000 arbitrarily detained. Many have been tortured—including children. The Diaspora – Lifelines to Myanmar Myanmar has an extensive, active, and committed diaspora. The type of support prioritized is independent of international aid categories of humanitarian assistance, human rights, protection or direct support for politics and civil disobedience. Their activities are largely in parallel and separate to the existing humanitarian architecture. The diaspora is mainly engaged in activities such as fundraising, advocacy, education, settlement assistance and documentation of human rights abuses. As of 2021, over 3 million Myanmar nationals have migrated internationally, primarily to Thailand, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Close to 2 million Myanmar nationals live in neighboring Thailand, the largest destination for Burmese migrants. Key challenges for Myanmar Diasporas Unsurprisingly, the key challenges for diaspora organizations are funding and resources, as well as access. Many organizations operate on a voluntary basis, necessarily limiting the time available from their members. For diaspora organizations supporting the civil disobedience movement, providing support can be particularly dangerous, especially when using Hundi and communicating through underground networks. Recognition by the International Humanitarian Community The international humanitarian community recognizes the unique value offered by diaspora organizations—their reach in areas inaccessible to international actors, access to real-time information and people, some of whom may move regularly, and ability to act informally and relatively quickly, unrestrained by formal bureaucracy. They have an ability to meet needs that are impossible for the international community to address..."
Source/publisher: Danish Refugee Council via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2022-02-21
Date of entry/update: 2022-02-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf pdf
Size: 3.75 MB (Original version), 2.83 MB (Reduce version) - 37 pages
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Description: "This regular update, covering humanitarian developments from 1 and 31 January, is produced by OCHA Myanmar in collaboration with the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group and UNHCR. The next humanitarian update will be issued in March 2022. HIGHLIGHTS The security and humanitarian situations across Myanmar have further deteriorated during January with intensified conflict in multiple states and regions, particularly in northwest and southeast Myanmar, resulting in additional loss of life, destruction of civilian property and increasing internal and cross- border displacement. As of 31 January, an estimated 441,500 people remained internally displaced across Myanmar due to clashes and insecurity since 1 February 2021. This is in addition to the 370,400 people living in protracted displacement before February 2021. Humanitarian actors have continued providing critical life-saving assistance to displaced people and host communities wherever they can, including through local partners amid serious access challenges. Preparedness efforts to contain the fourth wave of COVID-19 are ongoing. These include surveillance, case management, infection prevention and control, and Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE). An outbreak of acute watery diarrhea (AWD) has been reported in displacement sites hosting those affected by Arakan Army (AA)-Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) conflict and in Rohingya IDP camps in three townships in Rakhine State. Humanitarian partners have collectively intervened to contain the outbreak and continue monitoring the situation. In January, UNOCHA released the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), which requests US$826 million to reach 6.2 million people in need of life-saving humanitarian support. KEY FIGURES * 441K People currently displaced across Myanmar by clashes and insecurity since February 2021 370K People remain internally displaced in Rakhine, Kachin, Chin and Shan due to conflict before February 2021 232K People remain internally displaced in southeast Myanmar due to conflict since February 2021 3.5K Civilian properties, including houses, churches, monasteries and schools burnt down or destroyed since February 2021. **Displacement figures fluctuate during any given month. These figures represent the number of people currently displaced. Cumulative numbers for returns and displacement are not always available. SITUATION OVERVIEW A year on from the 1 February 2021 military takeover, the security, humanitarian and human rights situation in Myanmar continues to be dominated by intensified hostilities between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and various ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), as well as People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) across multiple states and regions, with no respite on the horizon. Heightened conflict during January saw loss of civilian lives, destruction of homes and livelihoods, and a surge in internal and cross-border displacement. Protection of civilians and threats to basic rights remain a grave concern for the humanitarian community among escalating tensions. According to OHCHR, the violence that has ensued and spread across the country since February 2021 has claimed the lives of at least 1,5001 people, including men, women, boys and girls, and many have been injured or maimed. Of the total, more than 114 were children under 18 years old, including at least 18 children in January alone. Furthermore, between 1 January and 31 December 2021, UNICEF reports that 169 landmine and explosive remnant of war (ERW) incidents in which 88 civilians, including 19 women and 19 children, were killed and another 196 people, including 33 women and 55 children, were injured. A year of unprecedented violence has driven desperate need in new areas and has further compounded the humanitarian situation for those already displaced and suffering. According to UNHCR,4 441,500 people remain internally displaced across the country due to violence and insecurity since February 2021. This recent displacement has already exceeded the number of displaced people in Rakhine, Chin, Shan and Kachin states from conflicts prior to the military takeover (370,400 IDPs). As of 31 January 2022, more than 3,500 houses, churches, monasteries, schools, and markets had been either burnt down or destroyed, mainly in Chin and Kayah states and Sagaing and Magway regions. The humanitarian needs of displaced people as well as host communities are escalating and include food, shelter and relief items, as well as access to life-saving services, including health and education. As a result of conflict and the political crisis, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, poverty has surged. UNDP projects that nearly half of Myanmar’s 54 million people – some 25 million people – are in poverty heading into 2022. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that in 2021, only 18.9 million women and men were employed, which is 1.6 million (8 per cent) fewer than in 2020.6 Food insecurity is rising because of increasing poverty. More than 13 million people are now in moderate or severe food insecurity across the country with concerning implications for malnutrition in 2022. In January, on behalf of the humanitarian community in Myanmar, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), published the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), which requests US$826 million for UN agencies, international and local NGOs to reach 6.2 million people in need of life-saving humanitarian support. Humanitarians need to be able to physically get help to people in need. Access is currently extremely limited and bureaucratic, delaying the delivery of assistance and prolonging people’s suffering. As recently noted by the Spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General, the “multiple vulnerabilities of all people across Myanmar and its regional implications require an urgent response. Access to people in need is critically important for the United Nations and partners to continue to deliver on the ground.” He also added that “[a]rmed forces and all stakeholders must respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Quicker, simplified and predictable access processes and assurances of aid worker safety are urgently needed for a humanitarian response of this size, allowing local, national and international organizations to support people in need. Visa, banking, registration and MOU blockages remain major obstacles to effective response and must urgently be resolved. Donors are urged to give generously, in solidarity with the people of Myanmar to save lives and protect hard-fought development gains while there is still a window to do so. Identifying and engaging additional local partners will also be critical to delivering more assistance to more people in hard-to-reach and under-served locations..."
Source/publisher: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2022-02-15
Date of entry/update: 2022-02-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 447.73 KB
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Description: "Anna Ruth* vividly remembers the day her husband was killed as the family tried to escape gunfire for the second time in less than a year. When fighting between the Myanmar Armed Forces and other armed groups reached the village they had sought refuge in near Loikaw, the capital of Myanmar’s south-eastern Kayah State, she and her family fled with other villagers to the nearby forest to hide. But her husband and some of their neighbours wanted to go back to gather food and other essentials. “I told him not to go because it was too dangerous, but he didn’t listen,” she recalls. “In the evening, the group returned but my husband did not. I later found out that he was shot while collecting some belongings from my mother-in-law’s house where we had been sheltering.” In Kayah State, a humanitarian crisis has been building since renewed armed conflict broke out in May 2021. With six of the state’s seven townships now affected by intense fighting, tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes. Some have sought safety at places of worship and community centres, while others are hiding in the jungle. Across Myanmar, similar patterns have been playing out of clashes between the Myanmar Armed Forces, ethnic and other local armed groups, followed by waves of fresh displacement. Since the military takeover on 1 February 2021, some 440,000 people have been forced to flee airstrikes, shelling, and burning of villages, more than half of them in the south-east of the country, with Kayah and Kayin States the worst affected. Anna Ruth and her family, like many others in Kayah State, have been displaced several times. “We have been running since June 2021,” she explains. “First from our village in Demoso Township to my mother-in-law’s in Loikaw Township, and from there to the forest where we stayed for months.” Left widowed with four young children, she eventually sought safety in another village in Loikaw Township, only to be displaced again a few weeks later when fighting intensified across Kayah State last month. Desperate for safety and unsure where to go next, Anna Ruth followed other displaced families and crossed into neighbouring Shan State. “I’ve lost everything except my children.” “I never imagined that this would happen to me. Before, my family was living happily in our village. Now, I’ve lost everything except my children,” she said. They are now sheltering at a monastery where, in scenes repeated across Myanmar, the local community and local charities are showing solidarity and leading the humanitarian response. Despite their best efforts, resources are increasingly stretched as more displaced people arrive. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has been working with local partners and communities to relieve some of this pressure and supplement grassroots aid efforts to assist some 30,000 people who have arrived to Shan State from Kayah State since the beginning of the year. The agency has set up a temporary base in the Shan State capital, Taunggyi, to coordinate distribution of emergency aid in the area and address shortages of basic household materials and clothing. Over the past few weeks, some 10,000 internally displaced people from Kayah, spread across several townships in Shan State, have received blankets, kitchen sets, mosquito nets, jerry cans, buckets, sleeping mats, tarpaulins, and winterization kits. Local well-wishers have also contributed items such as toothbrushes, soap, and shampoo. Having arrived with few possessions, Anna Ruth is grateful for the help. “At first, we were unsure about taking shelter at the Buddhist monastery as we are Christians,” she explained. “But the monks warmly welcomed all of us. Now, we live together with other displaced people in harmony. The blankets, buckets, mats and clothing provided are very helpful for us as I was only able to bring some of my children’s clothing with me.” With the ongoing conflict in Kayah State showing no sign of abating, further displacement towards Shan State is expected in the weeks, and even months to come. While relieved to have found a place of refuge, Anna Ruth yearns to return to her native Kayah State. “My children keep asking when they can go back home. We hope we can return soon.”..."
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Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2022-02-11
Date of entry/update: 2022-02-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "KEY DISPLACEMENT FIGURES 39,000 Estimated refugee movements to neighbouring countries since 1 February 2021 980,000 Refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar in neighbouring countries as of 31 December 2020 442,000 Estimated total internal displacement within Myanmar since 1 February 2021 812,000 Estimated internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Myanmar as of 31 January 2022 HIGHLIGHTS Armed clashes have escalated during the reporting period in the North West and South East, with airstrikes and shelling resulting in civilian casualties and forced displacement. As of 31 January 2022, displacement figures reached a new high of 441,500 displaced since 1 February 2021. These include 232,500 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in South-East Myanmar – 91,900 in Kayah State, 48,700 in Shan State (South-all towns except Kyethi, Laihka and Mongkaing), 81,400 in Kayin State, 7,100 in Mon State, 2,600 in Tanintharyi Region and 800 in Bago Region; 7,100 in Shan State (North). In addition, there are 136,300 IDPs in Sagaing Region, 33,800 in Chin State and 21,400 in Magway Region. In the South-East, intense fighting - initially centred around Demoso Township, Kayah State - has triggered several waves of large-scale displacement with tens of thousands forced to flee their homes and seek refuge at places of worship, community centres, in host communities or in the jungle. The main needs are for food, healthcare services and winterization items to cope with the cold temperatures. Over 10,000 IDPs from Kayah State took refuge in Taunggyi Township, Shan State (South). Over 6,000 IDPs are now being sheltered by local host communities in overcrowded conditions. Thousands of people are still displaced by fighting in Lay Kay Kaw in the south of Myawady Township along the Myanmar-Thai border and are unable to return home. Over 9,700 individuals from Myanmar had fled the upsurge in violence in Kayin and Kayah States since 16 December into Tak and Mae Hong Song provinces in Thailand. According to the Royal Thai Government official sources, all of the individuals from Myanmar have voluntarily returned to Myanmar in various return movements. In Kachin and Shan (North) states, the security situation remains tense and continues to pose significant challenges, such as restrictions on movements around displacement and affected sites. Access to basic services, including education for children is hindered. Nonetheless, a few returns from displacement sites to villages of origin have been observed in Kachin State. In Shan State (North), the numbers of IDPs increased in Mongkoe, Muse Township due to fighting. While some returns were recorded from Mongkaing Township of Shan State (South), there was also new displacement following inter-EAO conflict between the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and Shan State Progress Party (SSPP). In the North-West, UNHCR protection monitoring revealed an increase of displacement in Sagaing Region due to ongoing clashes. Shortages of food, winter items, fuel and medical supplies continue to be reported. At least 3,000 people from 30 villages in Matupi Township in Chin State have been displaced by fighting. On 18 January, up to 1,000 villagers fled their homes to surrounding areas following attacks in Gangaw Township in Magway Region. In Rakhine State, IDPs across Rakhine State, as well as non-displaced Rohingya communities, continue to face challenges in accessing basic services, livelihoods, and humanitarian assistance. Some return movements continue to be observed from areas of conflict, albeit small scale. Returns continue to be promoted by de facto authorities, including instances where village leaders in some displacement sites were instructed to encourage returns of IDPs. Recent privatization of land at IDP camp areas and land sales to private individuals in Sittwe and Pauktaw have led to an increase in IDP households having to reside in makeshift shelters. IDPs have also been asked to pay rent for use of land. The privatization of land has also impacted the work of humanitarian agencies, where humanitarian infrastructure is under threat of relocation and demolition. The increase in military presence in Kyauktaw and Ponnagyung townships has raised concerns among communities, both Rakhine and Rohingya, fearing potential resumption of clashes. This fear also triggered some temporary displacement from Kyauktaw Township. It is estimated that some 7,000 new arrivals have crossed into India from Myanmar in the past two weeks..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2022-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2022-02-08
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Description: "Highlights In 2021, UNICEF received 34 per cent of its Myanmar Humanitarian Action for Children appeal of US $74.5 million, leaving a 66 per cent of needs unmet. Despite this gap, UNICEF’s response reached 96 per cent of its target (148,528 people) in providing access to primary health care services, 89 per cent of its target (77,758 children) in providing access to primary education, and 52 per cent of its target (227,013 people) in providing access to safe water. Since the military coup on 1 February, 320,900 people have been newly displaced nationwide, including 15,000 people who have fled to India. In the southeast, 175,700 people have been displaced, including 4,700 individuals who are now in Thailand as of December 2021. Prior to the coup, an additionnal 370,000 people were in protracted displacement due to earlier conflict mainly in Rakhine, Kachin and northern Shan states. Since the February 2021 military takeover, more than 100 children have been killed in Myanmar, including through shootings, airstrikes, indiscriminate artillery fire, use of explosives and being used as human shields. UNICEF, jointly with the Swiss Development Cooperation and in partnership with TdHL, funded the humanitarian cash transfer programme in Hlaing Thar Yar, benefitting a total of 5,300 recipients. Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs Eleven months into the 1 February 2021 military takeover, the conflict has spread across Myanmar, affecting hundreds of thousands of people who urgently need multisectoral emergency assistance. Throughout the year, the expansion of the conflict has severely impacted the already affected public system and provoked increased population displacements nationwide, with some people fleeing their homes in fear of the armed conflict, and others leaving villages destroyed by armed groups. The northwest and southeast regions have been the most severely affected by the clashes between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and the People’s Defence Forces and Ethnic Armed Organizations. As of 27 December 2021, the UN Refugee Agency reported a national total of 320,900 people who have remained displaced since the beginning of the clashes, including approximately 15,000 people who have found refuge across the border in India. This national total also accounts for 175,700 individuals who have been displaced in the southeast, including 4,700 people who have fled to neighbouring Thailand since the mid-December attacks in Kayin state. Prior to the coup and in addition to the previous figures, OCHA reports that approximately 370,000 people are in protracted displacement due to earlier conflict in Myanmar. This number includes 144,000 people, mostly Rohingyas, living in Rakhine state camps since 2012, 106,700 people living in protracted displacement camps in Kachin and northern Shan states since 2011, and 82,200 people displaced due to conflict between the Arakan Army and MAF from early 2019 and late 2020. In 2021, these mass movements of the population generated an array of new needs and exacerbated the vulnerability of specific groups, such as children and women, affected by the widespread violence. Humanitarian programming readjustments to the growing needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic were still a priority this year, with newly added vulnerabilities since the start of the conflict. From the initial 1 million people in need identified at the end of 2020, the number rapidly grew to 3.1 million in the Humanitarian Response Plan addendum. Consequently, UNICEF revised its Humanitarian Action for Children in August, which highlighted its aim to reach 667,389 people including 316,164 children out of the 1.2 million children estimated to be in dire need of nutrition services, safe drinking water, health care, protection and education. All assistance programmes have been expanded, but humanitarian partners have faced additional layers of complexity in their implementation, including access restrictions to people in conflict-affected areas, security risks and threats due to hazards, and temporary suspension of their activities due to COVID-19 prevention measures. Despite funding gaps and operational constraints, UNICEF implemented its responses, including reaching 96 per cent of its target for providing access to primary health care services to 148,528 people, 89 per cent of its target for providing access to primary education to 77,758 children aged from 3 to 17 years, and 52 per cent of its target was reached for providing access to safe water to 227,013 people. As of 1 January 2022, a cumulative total of 531,025 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 19,274 deaths were recorded in Myanmar, resulting in a case fatality rate of 3,6 per cent. The escalation of the armed conflict, the population displacements and the impact of COVID-19 control measures have further restricted access to essential services, in conjunction with their impacts on children. As a result, approximately 12 million children missed school for 18 months due to the pandemic. Even though schools began to reopen in November 2021, the slow growth in attendance (40 to 50 per cent as of December 2021) demonstrated resistance to attending schools managed by the de facto authorities. The conflict’s impact on children goes further, with exposure to violence affecting their physical and psychological health and well-being, and the heightened risks of suffering from conflict-related violence including killing, physical injury, trafficking, recruitment and use in armed conflict, sexual violence, arbitrary arrest, and unlawful detention. Given the persistence of the conflict and its impact, UNICEF has estimated that the population’s emergency needs will continue to grow in 2022, with an estimated 25 per cent of the population needing humanitarian aid, including 5 million children..."
Source/publisher: UN Children's Fund via Reliefweb (New York)
2022-01-31
Date of entry/update: 2022-01-31
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Description: "UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, today expressed its continued encouragement and support for the adoption of measures to improve the wellbeing and safety of Myanmar refugees who have been arriving in Thailand since mid-December. According to official sources, over 9,500 civilians had been forced to flee their homes in Kayin and Kayah states in southeast Myanmar, seeking shelter and protection in Tak and Mae Hong Son Provinces in Thailand. While the majority have returned to Myanmar, UNHCR understands from the Thai authorities that approximately 1,000 refugees remain in Mae Sot, the vast majority of whom are staying in a site in Mae Kone Kane. While recognizing the assistance provided thus far by the Government with the support of local communities, this may not be sustainable nor sufficient for individuals with vulnerabilities and specific healthcare needs. The situation remains extremely uncertain and volatile in Myanmar. Given the pressing humanitarian needs of the refugees and the continued fighting on the Myanmar side of the border, UNHCR calls on the Royal Thai Government to transfer the group of refugees being sheltered in the ‘temporary safety area’ in Mae Sot, Tak Province, to another location where they can access safer and more dignified temporary accommodation, and receive improved humanitarian assistance. UNHCR reiterates its readiness to assist the Thai authorities in responding to the humanitarian needs of the new arrivals. To that effect, UNHCR and humanitarian partners continue to request access to the refugee population. UNHCR also reiterates its call that, in accordance with international law, all those seeking international protection and fleeing conflict, generalized violence or persecution be allowed to cross borders in search of safety, and that they are not forcibly sent back to a place where their lives and freedom could be in danger..."
Source/publisher: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
2022-01-20
Date of entry/update: 2022-01-21
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Description: "This is the US Campaign for Burma’s eleventh monthly On-The-Ground in Burma briefer! Since December 10th is Human Rights Day, this month’s briefer will focus on the human rights abuses in Burma This month’s briefer includes: December highlights An in-depth analysis of human rights abuses in Burma Four major policy recommendations A unique feature story from IDPs displaced by airstrikes in Karen State An overview of IDP issues and rights abuses in each ethnic state and central Burma As the conflict escalates in Burma between the pro-junta militias, anti-coup forces, and the military, so has the violence and rights deprivations in ethnic regions and central Burma. Almost a year after the February 1st coup and the junta is unrelenting in its brutal campaign on the people of Burma..."
Source/publisher: US Campaign for Burma
2022-01-03
Date of entry/update: 2022-01-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The Myanmar military has been carrying out indiscriminate attacks on its civilian populations and obstructing access to necessities critical to their survival since it seized power nearly a year ago on 1 February, 2021, Amnesty International said today. Amnesty International interviewed four displaced civilians and six local aid workers and volunteer humanitarian responders. Their powerful accounts highlight the military’s systematic attempts to starve people and prevent them from accessing health care as it seeks to crush armed resistance to the coup. For more than six decades, the military has applied a “four cuts” strategy in the country’s border areas, cutting off essential resources to destroy the support base of ethnic armed organizations fighting for self-determination. Now, it has expanded these tactics to areas where new People’s Defense Forces have emerged, as it continues to violently crack down on all forms of resistance to the coup. The military’s use of the four cuts strategy has had devastating consequences for the civilian population. As part of its war against armed resistance, the military has not only launched indiscriminate airstrikes and burned hundreds of homes, but it has also cut off vital items and services for civilian populations across diverse ethnicities and geographic areas. The United Nations has identified 284,700 people internally displaced due to armed clashes and insecurity since the coup and at least two million people newly in need of humanitarian assistance in 2021, while projecting that humanitarian needs will further escalate in 2022. On 9 December, the UN described “severely limited” humanitarian access with challenges including road blockages and increased scrutiny of humanitarian supplies and personnel. “Since the military seized power, the people of Myanmar have faced extreme hardships. Hundreds of thousands have been forced to leave their own homes. Many are suffering from hunger and facing the frightening reality of having to survive without health or medical care even as the pandemic continues,” said Emerlynne Gil, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Research. Barely surviving in the forest Katherine* was entering the second trimester of her pregnancy when fighting between military forces and combined forces of civilian resistance groups and ethnic armed organizations erupted across Kayah State in May. The military responded to the new opposition front by conducting airstrikes, firing heavy artillery and shooting indiscriminately, causing 100,000 people to flee their homes as of 8 June, according to United Nations estimates. On 9 June, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews warned of “mass deaths from starvation, disease and exposure” across the state as the military cut off displaced people’s access to food, water and medicine, including by blocking aid deliveries. When the fighting reached Katherine’s village in Demoso township, she and her husband fled into the forest with their two children. The family relocated several times for their safety and endured the rainy season sleeping under a sheet of tarpaulin. According to her husband, although they received some food from humanitarian aid groups and other villagers, it was insufficient. Around seven months into Katherine’s pregnancy, she began vomiting and suffering from dizzy spells, fatigue and shortness of breath. On one occasion, she went into seizures. By eight months, her limbs had swelled, and she had lost the ability to walk. She went into labor in October. Even though a midwife was present, neither Katherine nor her baby survived. “She could not access nutritious food or warm shelter. My wife faced difficulties during her pregnancy, and she became weak and unable to deliver the baby,” said her husband. She could not access nutritious food or warm shelter. My wife faced difficulties during her pregnancy, and she became weak and unable to deliver the baby. -Katherine's husband Kayah State’s Hpruso township has also seen mass displacement since May, but Francis* could not immediately flee with his family because he is paralyzed from the waist down. His wife and mother-in-law ran into the forest with their four children, and he joined them the next day, when people from his village came back for him and carried him. The family returned home after a week and a half, but soon had to flee again because fighting resumed. In total, they spent about a month in the forest. “When we first ran, we just slept where we could, with no blanket or shelter. After one or two days, when things quieted down a bit, we brought some bedsheets and blankets [from home]. We stayed under a tarpaulin the whole time,” said Francis. His family and others who had to flee their village not only had to survive with whatever food and water they could find. They also could not access medicine or medical supplies. Francis’ wife usually uses rubber gloves and catheters to assist his bowel movements and urination, but they ran out while in the forest. In June, a charity group offered him more stable shelter, where he now stays with his wife and two youngest children. Although the shelter offers better facilities and access to resources than the forest, Francis said food is still limited. He also fears that the place where he is staying could come under attack. Francis’ two older children are staying in their grandmother and aunt’s home, and they are still fleeing in and out of the forest as the fighting between the security forces and armed resistance groups continues. He wants to reunite with his children, but he worries it would create difficulties for those who are helping him. “If I choose to go back to the village and then I must flee again, I will be a burden to others. I cannot cope with that anymore, so I decided to stay here until things get better,” he said. Carrying loved ones on their backs In Sagaing and Magway Regions and Chin State, in Myanmar’s northwest, fighting between the military and civilian resistance groups as well as ethnic armed organizations has displaced more than 93,000 people according to the United Nations, as the military attacks residential areas with airstrikes, arson and indiscriminate gunfire. Tial Lian,* age 30, fled into the forest from her village in Chin State’s Mindat township with her husband, two children, her father and grandmother when clashes escalated in May. Because her father, age 77, and grandmother, whose age she estimates to be more than a hundred, are unable to walk well, Tial Lian and her husband carried them on their backs when their family fled. The family has since been going in and out of the forest, where Tial Lian and her husband have been constructing a small shelter out of tarpaulin. There would be times when, worried that their baby’s cries could alert soldiers to their location, the couple would run deeper into the forest with their children, leaving the two older people behind in the shelter for several days. Sometimes, rats gnaw holes in the tarpaulin, which offers little protection from the elements. “When it rains, our tarpaulin cannot bear the weight of the water. We get soaked, and our blankets too,” said Tial Lian. They also sometimes go for days without eating because they do not dare to make a fire when soldiers are nearby. Even when they can travel back to their village, accessing food and medicine is difficult. “The roads to buy rice are blocked, and no one sells rice in the village either,” said Tial Lian. “Because the road is blocked by soldiers, we have to pay 1500 kyats (approximately US$1) for supplies that would [usually] be only 1000 kyats,” she added. In addition to being short on rice, she said sometimes the family cannot access cooking oil, salt, or fish paste. According to UN estimates, renewed fighting since March between the Kachin Independence Organization and the military in Myanmar’s northernmost Kachin State has displaced more than 15,000 people across the state. Hkaw Reng* has not been back to her village in Injangyang township since fighting intensified in March. She left her village and walked with her one-year-old son for two days before setting up camp. They have since received limited humanitarian assistance. “Roads are blocked and the place where I am staying is remote, so it is hard to access food and medicine,” she said. Around April, Hkaw Reng found out she was pregnant, but she has not yet received any prenatal care. She worries about how she will deliver the baby, as traveling to a medical facility could take hours and she would need to pass through military checkpoints on the way. Cutting off supplies Six local humanitarian responders described ways the military has severely limited aid responses, including by arresting aid workers and by confiscating or destroying food, medicine and relief supplies or restricting their transport. “The military is denying life-saving aid to people. They are strangling their lifelines such as food and medical supply routes and threatening medical workers who only want to save lives,” said Emerlynne Gil. In November, the United Nations described a “fragile” security context in southeastern Myanmar and “heavily restricted” humanitarian access. In southern Shan State’s Moebye township, where fighting broke out in late May, a humanitarian response team made up of local youth tried to send relief supplies to displaced people hiding in the mountains on the morning of 8 June, according to one of the team’s members. The person, who is not being identified for fears of reprisals, said he and other members of the response team loaded a van with sacks of rice at a school which was being used as a storehouse. But when the van embarked, soldiers opened fire towards it. The van never reached its destination. “We had to flee quickly and were not able to move the supplies,” he said. That night, he watched from a distance as soldiers emptied the storehouse of its contents and burned them. More than 80 bags of rice, as well as other food items, medical supplies, and drums of gasoline were destroyed. The soldiers also destroyed a marked ambulance and another vehicle. “They burned everything except the portable toilets,” said the humanitarian responder. The military is denying life-saving aid to people. They are strangling their lifelines such as food and medical supply routes and threatening medical workers who only want to save lives. -Emerlynne Gil, Deputy Regional Director for Research Military forces also aimed and fired their guns into the mountains, he said, causing people who had already been displaced from their homes to relocate again. Although they did not have enough food, they feared coming out of hiding to find more. This response team member also relayed that in early October, a driver transporting food supplies designated for IDPs in Moebye was arrested between the towns of Nyaung Shwe and Pekon. “[Soldiers] confiscated all the dry food supplies and the truck and arrested the driver and his assistant.” The military also blocked the transport of medical supplies into Moebye since early October, according to him, and his team has been unable to receive donated relief items from Yangon. “The situation is not safe, so we don’t dare to go and collect donations and no drivers dare to transport them either.” His team does not travel to the market in nearby Loikaw to purchase items themselves anymore and has delayed distributing some items because of the risks. They also face difficulties transferring funds to purchase items because few money transfer agents dare to help them, fearing they too could be targeted. This volunteer response team, which also partners with healthcare professionals to provide mobile clinics and emergency response services, sometimes had to delay or suspend these services due to fear of arrest. A civil society worker in neighboring Pekon township, where there have also been clashes and displacement since late May, told Amnesty International that the military started blocking roads there in June. “At first, we used other routes, but those were blocked too. Now, we are transporting [relief items] little by little but in some areas, we could not transport anything,” she said. The military also regularly inspects the contents of vehicles at random checkpoints. “Lately, they have completely restricted transporting any medication. When people order medical supplies, [security forces] open the packages on the road and confiscate them,” she said. Another civil society worker described similar challenges when attempting to distribute aid in Kayah State’s Loikaw, Demoso and Hpruso townships. “Soldiers stop and check a lot when we send food and tarpaulins for shelters and sometimes, we aren’t allowed to pass through. When we transport supplies, we cannot do it openly,” she said. Her organization has removed the white flags it initially displayed on its vehicles to signal relief work. Furthermore, in order to avoid attention from the military, her organization now purchases aid in small quantities. Fear of being attacked or caught in the crossfire has also delayed or stopped her team from reaching certain areas in Demoso township. “We have to look for a safe road which [the military] does not know about,” she said. “We stop in one place and keep the stuff, and when the road is clear, we resume the trip.” Pervasive fear Humanitarian responders in northwestern Myanmar are facing similar impediments, and the United Nations reported shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies on 9 December. A volunteer with an emergency response team in Mindat, Chin State said that his group has been unable to send food or medical aid to many parts of the township due to blocked roads, and that the team delivers relief items in small quantities by motorcycle or on foot to reduce their visibility after one of its members was arrested while returning from delivering aid to displaced people. In Sagaing region’s Kalay township, a civil society worker said that the military has “blocked all the main roads” and that security forces “check everything” in vehicles traveling in the area. “They prohibit all items that can help [IDPs], and arrest people. There are times that we do not dare to help, and just wait,” she said. Her organization refrains from sending medicine altogether because they heard that the military confiscates all medicine at the entrance into the town. The risks of transporting goods have also made it hard to find a driver in areas with ongoing fighting in Chin and Sagaing region where her organization operates, she said. “There were times when we had to negotiate and beg [drivers] to deliver food,” she said. They prohibit all items that can help [IDPs], and arrest people. There are times that we do not dare to help, and just wait. -civil society worker A volunteer doctor in Sagaing region’s Yinmarbin township said that his team is unable to freely transport medicine or medical equipment. “Sometimes, [our suppliers] send it to us but we don’t receive it,” he said. He is part of a network providing mobile healthcare to conflict-affected communities and injured People’s Defense Force members, as well as food aid to displaced people in Sagaing region. The military has shut down the internet in 24 townships in central and northwestern Myanmar, including Yinmarbin, since September. The volunteer doctor said that he and his teammates consequently face a delay in accessing information about the ground situation, which had severely hampered their medical response, especially in areas where the military has at times blocked phone networks. He and his teammates also face security risks. He told Amnesty International that in July, a temporary medical facility was hit by military shelling and gunfire, causing the volunteers and patients to flee. At least three volunteers from his network were also arrested, he said. These accounts are emblematic of what is happening across the country and demonstrate how the Myanmar military is systematically depriving civilians of desperately needed supplies and medicine. “We will see more lives lost if the military continues this brutal campaign against its own people. The military must allow full access for humanitarian workers in affected regions,” said Emerlynne Gil. Note: *Names have been changed to protect their security..."
Source/publisher: Amnesty International (UK)
2021-12-17
Date of entry/update: 2021-12-17
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Description: " At least 2,500 people including hundreds of children have fled a flare-up in fighting between the Myanmar army and ethnic minority rebels and have taken refuge across the border in Thailand, Thai authorities and an aid group said. Those displaced had poured into the Thai town of Mae Sot after fighting in the past few days between the Karen National Union (KNU) and Myanmar's army, Somchai Kitcharoenrungroj, deputy governor of western Tak province, told a news conference. Myanmar was plunged into turmoil when the military ousted a civilian government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, triggering protests in cities and sporadic clashes in the countryside between anti-junta militia and the army. There has also been intensified fighting at times between the army and ethnic minority insurgents in border areas, like the KNU, Myanmar's oldest rebel force. Somchai put the number of displaced on the Thai side of the border at 2,503. Ye Min, an official at the Aid Alliance Committee, a Thai-based Myanmar migrants group, said that total included 545 children. "We are providing food assistance working together with Thai authorities," Ye Min said by telephone, adding most of the displaced were from Lay Kay Kaw and other villages. The KNU has been seeking self-determination in a region of about 1.6 million people. The KNU said in a social media post said four Myanmar soldiers were killed and four wounded during the fighting on Wednesday. A report by Public Voice Television, which is backed by Myanmar's shadow government, posted photographs it said showed seized weapons and eight captured members of the Myanmar security forces. It said 18 government soldiers had been killed. Reuters could not independently verify the claims and a spokesman for Myanmar's military junta did not answer a call seeking comment. Tak provincial authorities said there was a clash between the army and the KNU on Thursday about 500 metres (550 yards) from the Thai border. It said a shell had fallen on the Thai side of the border though had not caused harm or damage, and Thai forces had intensified patrols in the area..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
2021-12-17
Date of entry/update: 2021-12-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Donors Should Channel Assistance Via Local and Cross-Border Efforts
Description: "Myanmar’s military junta is blocking desperately needed humanitarian aid from reaching millions of displaced people and others at risk, Human Rights Watch said today. The United Nations, the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and concerned governments should press the State Administration Council (SAC) junta to urgently allow aid to reach all those in need. In recent months, the junta and its security forces have imposed new travel restrictions on humanitarian workers, blocked access roads and aid convoys, destroyed non-military supplies, attacked aid workers, and shut down telecommunications services. The February 1, 2021 military coup also triggered widespread infrastructure collapse and a severe devaluation of the Myanmar currency, leading to increasingly dire banking and supply chain crises and shortages of food, medicine, and other essentials. “Myanmar’s junta has worsened a self-created humanitarian catastrophe by displacing hundreds of thousands of people and then blocking the critical support they need to survive,” said Shayna Bauchner, Asia researcher. “The generals are callously denying lifesaving assistance to people affected by conflict since the military takeover, seemingly as a form of punishment.” Since the coup, the junta has carried out a nationwide crackdown on anti-junta protesters and the political opposition that amounts to crimes against humanity and other abuses. Fighting in some ethnic minority areas has expanded, resulting in war crimes. The crisis has displaced over 284,000 people, with an estimated 22,000 refugees fleeing to India and Thailand. While Myanmar authorities have long impeded access to aid for vulnerable groups, the military junta has established new restrictions, creating a nationwide humanitarian catastrophe. The UN estimates that the number of people needing assistance will grow from 1 million before the coup to 14.4 million by 2022, including more than 5 million children. About 25 million people, or half the population, could be living below the national poverty line. A man displaced in 2011 and now living in a camp outside Laiza, Kachin State, told Human Rights Watch: “Since the coup, NGOs [nongovernmental organizations] that provide food couldn’t travel easily to the camp and they cannot transfer funding easily. Many people used to go outside of the camp for day jobs and to support families, but because of the coup and Covid-19, there aren’t many job opportunities left they could do.” The junta’s interference in relief operations has disregarded calls for unhindered aid delivery by the UN General Assembly, Human Rights Council, and Security Council, the European Parliament, and donor governments. The UN relief chief, Martin Griffiths, said on November 8 that “access to many people in desperate need across the country remains extremely limited due to bureaucratic impediments put in place by the armed forces.” He called on the junta to “facilitate safe, rapid, and unimpeded humanitarian access.” On November 10, the UN Security Council issued a statement on Myanmar calling for “full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all people in need, and for the full protection, safety and security of humanitarian and medical personnel.” The UN, regional bodies, and donors should pressure the junta to ensure the health and well-being of the population in accordance with Myanmar’s obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, Human Rights Watch said. At the same time, the international response to the humanitarian situation in Myanmar has been inadequate. The UN and other aid agencies have only received 18 percent of the US$109 million requested to respond to the post-coup humanitarian emergency. Funding requirements for 2022 have more than doubled due to the crisis, to $826 million. Donors including the United States, European Union, and United Kingdom should increase funding while channeling aid through local civil society groups, rather than through junta authorities, given the military’s track record of corruption and misuse of assistance funding and material. Effective aid delivery hinges on engaging independent and impartial local partners that have the networks and experience to navigate a difficult environment. In areas of armed conflict in Myanmar, the junta’s obstruction of humanitarian assistance violates international humanitarian law. All parties to an armed conflict are obligated to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded impartial humanitarian assistance to all civilians in need, and are forbidden from withholding consent for relief operations on arbitrary grounds. Unnecessary delays or obstruction of aid may also violate the rights to life, to health, and to an adequate standard of living, including food and water. The military has also attacked health facilities and medical workers, in violation of international law. Neighboring countries, including India, Thailand, and China, should facilitate emergency cross-border aid to internally displaced people in Myanmar and provide protection, support, and humanitarian aid to all refugees, including allowing the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) access to screen asylum seekers. The UN Security Council should go beyond issuing statements, and should urgently pass a resolution that institutes a global arms embargo on Myanmar, refers the military’s grave crimes before and since the coup to the International Criminal Court, and imposes targeted sanctions on the junta leadership and military-owned conglomerates. “Governments should press Myanmar’s junta to facilitate, not block, the delivery of assistance that millions of people depend on to survive,” Bauchner said. “Regional bodies and donors should work closely with local groups and cross-border efforts to make sure aid is reaching those in need and not being diverted by generals neck-deep in atrocities.” Humanitarian Crisis and Aid Blockages As opposition to the February 1 coup grew, the Myanmar security forces, including the military and police, violently cracked down on peaceful protests throughout the country. The military launched new offensives in ethnic minority areas, resulting in abuses against civilians. In some areas, newly formed anti-junta armed groups fought alongside long-established ethnic armies against military forces. In November, clashes were reported in every state and region in Myanmar. The UN has reported that the military has carried out targeted and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including airstrikes and heavy artillery barrages. Accounts from displaced people and aid workers suggest that the junta has continued to use the military’s longstanding “four cuts” strategy, in which the armed forces maintain control of an area by isolating and terrorizing the civilian population. An estimated 638,000 people are displaced in Myanmar, including many who were forced to leave their homes years prior to the coup. Civilians displaced by fighting, particularly in Myanmar’s northwest and southeast, have faced dire restrictions on access to food, clean water, sanitation, shelter, and health care, leaving them at severe risk of disease and malnutrition. Military forces have seized food deliveries en route to displacement sites and arrested people on suspicion of supporting aid efforts. As the UN special rapporteur on Myanmar reported in September, “The junta is directly to blame for the lack of humanitarian access to internally displaced persons, where its forces have deliberately blocked access roads and turned back aid convoys.” The requisite travel authorization process for humanitarian workers, already highly bureaucratic and arbitrary, has grown even more constrained under the junta’s control, severely impeding aid delivery, in particular during monsoon season floods. Many international aid organizations’ memorandums of understanding with the government were signed prior to the coup and have since expired, raising concerns about travel authorizations for aid delivery. Visas for aid workers have also been delayed or denied. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported in October that “the need to procure travel authorization remains a major access impediment and a high constraint factor for the humanitarian partners’ capacity to reach people in need.” Where previously a negative Covid-19 test was sufficient for the application, for example, junta authorities began requiring all staff to submit a vaccination card and recommendation letter from the township medical officer for their travel authorization application, at a time when only 3 percent of the country was vaccinated. Since February, the junta has cut off mobile internet data and blocked public Wi-Fi and most broadband internet service. It has continued to impose communication blockades, particularly in areas of increased hostilities. In August and September, the junta cut phone and internet services in dozens of townships in Chin and Kachin States and Mandalay, Magway, and Sagaing Regions. “We have no internet and sometimes mobile reception is not available,” an aid worker in Chin State said. Disrupted supply chains, increasing prices and scarcity of goods, and loss of access to agricultural livelihoods have compounded food shortages around the country. The Myanmar currency, the kyat, has lost over 60 percent of its value since the coup, contributing to food crises in urban and peri-urban areas, including Yangon and Mandalay. According to the UN Development Programme, urban poverty rates are set to triple by 2022. Humanitarian agencies and UN human rights experts recently raised grave concerns about the food, shelter, and cash needs of thousands of families who have been forcibly evicted from settlements in Mandalay and Yangon, including Hlaing Tharyar and Dagon Seikkan townships, since late October. Northwest Myanmar Since May, an estimated 93,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Chin State and Magway and Sagaing Regions in Myanmar’s northwest. In Chin State, fighting has increased between the armed forces and the Chinland Defense Force (CDF), an anti-junta militia. The UN special rapporteur on Myanmar reported that the military, after declaring martial law in the town of Mindat in May, carried out air and ground attacks, committing indiscriminate attacks and sexual violence and using civilians as human shields. An estimated 30,000 people fled the fighting. After capturing Mindat, the security forces imposed drastic measures on the civilian population, effectively cutting the area off from all aid and supplies by closing all roads to the town; blocking nearby supply routes; turning back aid convoys; looting and destroying supplies; interrogating and arresting civilians entering the town for goods; and cutting internet services. In May, military forces fired at makeshift displacement sites marked with white flags. At least six displaced people reportedly died in the jungle from lack of access to health care. Local aid groups and host communities who have tried to support displaced people with food and other supplies have suffered harassment, arbitrary detention, violence, and constant surveillance by the security forces. Some humanitarian workers have been arrested and charged with incitement under section 505A of the penal code. An aid worker in Mindat said that when a team member and an international staff member planning a humanitarian project were arrested, “our operations on the ground got a lot more difficult.” The worker noted that in October, security forces had even arrested people going shopping for household products in Mindat. In July, the UN refugee agency received travel authorization to deliver emergency aid to displacement sites in Mindat, but displaced people in the area reported the aid never reached them after the junta denied aid workers access to any areas outside security force control. In late October, the military deployed tens of thousands of troops to the country’s north and northwest, in seeming preparation for wide-scale operations against anti-junta forces. Satellite imagery revealed that over the next month, hundreds of buildings were burned in Thantlang, Chin State, corroborating video and witness accounts. The aid worker in Chin State said that junta authorities were confiscating aid packages that local humanitarians had tried to bring to displacement camps. Since imposing martial law in Mindat, security forces have taken over the sale of products in town, reselling them at high prices, he said. Anyone attempting to buy more than the allotted amount of food or medicine is accused of supporting the Chinland Defense Force or anti-junta People’s Defense Forces (PDF) and risks arrest. About 3,000 children have been displaced from the town of Mindat, but local aid workers said they have been unable to acquire any educational supplies because of security force checkpoints and the risk of arrest. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in December that with food running low in Mindat township, “people are becoming desperate.” Groups continue to advocate urgently for access: “The humanitarian community has developed a plan outlining the assistance it would immediately be able to provide to up to 26,000 people in Mindat Township if access was permitted, and is advocating at all levels for the necessary travel authorisations to be urgently granted.” Southeast Myanmar Since the coup, there has been major insecurity and fighting in southeast Myanmar, notably Bago Region and Karen (Kayin) and Karenni (Kayah) States. Over 173,000 people have been displaced since February. The junta has imposed severe movement restrictions in the area, requiring permission letters from local State Administration Council administrators to travel, as well as widespread security force checkpoints and patrols. Meeting minutes of UN agencies from May show that the State Administration Council denied the World Food Programme’s request to provide one month of food support to about 4,500 recently displaced people in Myaing Gyi Nyu village in Karen State. Junta officials also suggested they take over the food distribution to the camp. In June, media reported that military forces burned 80 bags of rice, barrels of cooking oil, other food, and medicine in Pekon, southern Shan State, that local residents had gathered for 3,000 people recently displaced by fighting. An aid worker in Karen State said that both the Myanmar military and the ethnic armed group Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) had imposed obstacles to travel. In KNLA-controlled territory, the local aid workers had to get permission to deliver supplies or hand them off to the KNLA to distribute. Local aid groups have identified Myanmar military checkpoints in the area, which they avoid when transporting food or medical supplies due to the risk of detention, harassment, or confiscation. At a national humanitarian meeting in August, UNICEF discussed the contingency plan for people displaced by airstrikes and ground fighting in Hlaingbwe, Karen State, including identifying supplies “so that we can manage very quickly before the road blockages occur,” according to meeting notes reviewed by Human Rights Watch. Protracted Displacement About 370,000 people were already displaced in Myanmar prior to the coup, most living for years in protracted displacement in Rakhine, Kachin, and northern Shan States. Humanitarian organizations reported in October that they faced “significantly decreased access” to the preexisting displacement camps and “increased scrutiny of implementing partners [and] activities.” OCHA reported in August that constraints since the coup, including “new bureaucratic restrictions and access limitations linked to the TA [travel authorization] process,” had impeded more than half of all activities in Rakhine State, “negatively impacting the delivery of services and humanitarian assistance to around 440,000 people in need.” UN and international agencies meeting minutes noted the junta’s erratic approval process: “TA granted by RSG [Rakhine State government] is changing every month.” About 600,000 ethnic Rohingya are confined to camps and villages in Rakhine State, denied freedom of movement under a system of apartheid, without adequate access to food, health care, and education. An estimated 130,000 Rohingya have been arbitrarily held in open-air detention camps in central Rakhine State since 2012. Humanitarian agency documents detail the serious water scarcity in Rakhine State, noting that water availability there is affected by constraints on access, banking issues, limited funding for water transport and distribution, and increased fuel prices and scarcity. Only 12 percent of people in northern Rakhine State identified as needing humanitarian aid had access to safe drinking water as of September, and only 14 percent had access to functional latrines. Food shortages in the camps and villages grew after June, when the World Food Programme had to halt its monthly cash allowance and food ration distributions. In northern Rakhine State, the junta even obstructs efforts to assess the extent of the gaps and needs. “The full extent of WASH [water, sanitation, and hygiene] needs in northern Rakhine continue to be largely unknown due to access restrictions,” humanitarian agencies wrote in their input to the 2022 Humanitarian Needs Overview. In early November, as tensions between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army ethnic armed group grew, the junta closed down the Ponnagyun-Rathedaung road, forcing people from 60 villages in the area to travel by waterway. Restrictions on Water, Sanitation, Health Displaced people’s severe lack of access to water, sanitation, and hygiene in Myanmar – underscored by recent humanitarian data – is life-threatening. UN agency documents stated that “AWD [acute watery diarrhea] cases were reported in 2021 due to the reduction of WASH in many camps in Rakhine and Kachin states.” In late May, at least nine Muslim children reportedly died in central Rakhine State following a month-long outbreak of acute diarrhea. “They have difficulties accessing drinking water, toilets, and sanitation products,” the Chin State aid worker said. “Kids in the camp had skin disease … because of dirty water. They don’t even have tanks to store water, they use plastic sheets to make water tanks.” He said that the Kyaukhtu camps in Magway Region have faced severe health crises: Some kids died from malnutrition, had skin disease. People died from not getting medical attention on time. There’s not enough medicine or medical supplies at camps. There are doctors who came to the CDF territory to provide health care to IDPs [internally displaced people] but they can’t do much when there’s not enough medical supplies. “IDPs have difficulty accessing food, clean water, and shelters,” an aid worker in Karen State said. “They’re now relying on rainwater…. There is seasonal flu, diarrhea because of no clean water, and Covid cases in the villages.” The Myanmar healthcare system effectively collapsed after the coup. With the junta cracking down on medical professionals for their role in the Civil Disobedience Movement, Myanmar has become one of the deadliest countries in the world to work in health care, according to data from the World Health Organization and Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition. From February 1 to September 30, state security forces allegedly killed at least 29 healthcare workers and arrested 210, with another 580 warrants issued for doctors and nurses. There have been 297 reported attacks on health care – nearly all by the security forces – including 87 raids and 56 military occupations of healthcare facilities. Security forces have beaten and shot medical staff providing care to injured protesters and forced clinics operated by nongovernmental groups to close, driving medics and volunteers to work underground in poorly resourced makeshift mobile clinics. Despite moving frequently, hidden facilities have faced deadly attacks by junta forces. Police and military officials shot at or confiscated ambulances. At least 31 medical vehicles have been attacked since the coup. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, or MSF) described the impact of the junta’s nationwide military deployment on access to health care: Patients in Myanmar are forced to travel farther to get care at a time when risks are much greater. Security forces at checkpoints scrutinise those moving around, search their belongings, intimidate them and contribute to a climate of fear. For patients with conditions requiring regular and long-term care, such as HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis C, the ongoing insecurity and delays in accessing medicines could be life-threatening. Amid the healthcare system’s collapse, Myanmar faced its third and most severe wave of Covid-19 in mid-2021. The security forces blocked people’s access to hospitals for urgent treatment and hoarded oxygen supplies. They arrested aid volunteers for attempting to deliver oxygen to affected communities. The junta’s Health Ministry reportedly rejected a request from a top OCHA official visiting the country in September for greater humanitarian access to address the Covid-19 crisis, which had hit a 38 percent positive test rate at its peak in late July. Myanmar’s UN Country Team reported in May that attacks on medical workers jeopardized the Covid-19 response and essential health services, “with potential devastating consequences.” The pandemic has also been used as a pretext for enforcing increasingly stringent restrictions on aid and movement. Days before the coup, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had transferred US$372 million to the Central Bank of Myanmar for emergency Covid-19 support. How the junta has used the funds remains unknown. At a September briefing, the IMF stated, “It’s not possible for the Fund to ascertain whether the regime currently in effective control is using the IMF funds as they were intended. Namely, to tackle to COVID and support the most vulnerable people.” Covax, the global vaccine distribution facility, also delayed a shipment of vaccines, citing the junta’s opacity around distribution and refusal to prioritize vulnerable populations. UN Security Council resolution 2286 condemns attacks on medical facilities and health workers in conflicts and calls on all parties to armed conflicts to respect international law, prevent attacks, and hold those responsible to account. It also asks the UN secretary-general to “bring to the attention of the Security Council situations in which the delivery of medical assistance to populations in need is being obstructed by parties to the armed conflict.”..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
2021-12-13
Date of entry/update: 2021-12-13
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Description: "HURFOM: Ten months of terror have passed since the Burma Army orchestrated a failed coup on 1 February. “Trajectory of Terror,” is a new briefing paper by the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) which outlines human rights violations committed in Mon State, Karen State and the Tanintharyi region perpetrated by the military junta between the end of February until the end of November 2021. Military impunity is emboldening the junta to commit more atrocities. On Human Rights Day, HURFOM expresses grave concern over the lack of safety civilians are being forced to contend with amid the junta’s dark crusade for power and control. HURFOM calls for an immediate forfeiting of powers by the Burmese military and an end to the violence which has killed hundreds and injured many more, including the elderly, women and children. [Download in English] The human rights situation in Burma has spiraled out of control. The increased violence and negligence wielded by the military Generals has left millions without food and shelter. Civilians do not feel safe in the country. Homes are being looted, and villages are being burned to the ground in deliberate acts of arson by the junta. Members of political opposition parties and human rights defenders have been forced into hiding. Children are being denied the right to be educated safely as military soldiers roam schools and use classrooms as bases. Livelihoods have been crippled as landmines litter farms and encircle villages, making leaving for food and work a life or death prospect. This sabotage of survival has been brought on willfully by the Burma Army. HURFOM fieldworkers have spoken to witnesses on the ground who detailed arbitrary arrests, abductions and assaults on fundamental freedoms of residents in our target areas. The violence has created an unstable environment where hundreds are fleeing persecution and fearful for what their futures hold. A response by the international community which meets the gravity of the peril’s civilians are being confronted with on a daily basis is long overdue. As the year ends, it is with the most profound urgency that HURFOM reiterates calls of our network and allies to respond to the many crises which are worsening daily. Media Contact Nai Aue Mon, HURFOM Program Director, Email: [email protected], Signal: +66 86 167 9741 HURFOM was founded by exiled pro-democracy students from the 1988 uprisings, recent activists and Mon community leaders and youth. Its primary objective is the restoration of democracy, human rights and genuine peace in Burma. HURFOM is a non-profit organization, and all its members are volunteers with a shared vision for peace in the country..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Foundation of Monland
2021-12-10
Date of entry/update: 2021-12-10
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Sub-title: Attacks on a number of villages in the Sagaing Region township are believed to have left at least six civilians dead
Description: "Air raids and shelling forced thousands of people from at least nine villages in Sagaing Region’s Depayin Township to flee over the weekend, according to local sources. The latest attacks, carried out on Saturday, come as Myanmar’s junta steps up its use of military aircraft to crush anti-regime forces in Sagaing. Earlier this month, around 100 soldiers raided three villages in Depayin and torched homes after being transported to the area by helicopter. On Saturday, attack helicopters were used to carry out airstrikes on Nyaung Hla, a resident of the village, located near the Muu River about 16km southeast of the town of Depayin, told Myanmar Now. The attack, which also included artillery shelling, forced most of the village’s roughly 5,000 inhabitants to flee, he said. “We could hear guns and artillery. Some of the elderly who couldn’t run didn’t get out,” said the man, who identified himself by the alias Nyi Naung. He added that smoke could be seen rising from the village. “They say the military set motorcycles parked at the monastery on fire. That’s where most people left their motorcycles,” he said, citing reports from other village residents. Other sources claimed that at least six people were killed in the attack, although this could not be confirmed at the time of reporting. Another villager who called himself Zero said that a military unit stationed at a nearby bridge fired on the village continuously during the assault. “They fired artillery at the houses and shot up the village non-stop. We don’t know who was still in the village or who was killed,” he said. Local residents said that four of the five helicopters used in the attacks were carrying soldiers. These troops were dropped off near Nyaung Hla on Saturday evening, before the attacks began, they said. The affected villages were Nyaung Hla, Segyitaw, Thayetdaw, Mukatwin, Me Oe, Letyetkone, Weagyi and Yinkyin, local sources reported. Residents said there hasn’t been any recent fighting in the area, so they didn’t know why their villages were being targeted. “There haven’t been any clashes around here,” said Zero, who speculated that reinforcements were probably sent because troops based in the area thought they were surrounded by resistance forces. “I think they were also too afraid of landmines to go out,” he added. On Sunday morning, the Depayin People’s Defence Force issued a statement warning residents not to gather in groups in open fields or cover their vehicles with waterproof sheets, to avoid being mistaken for regime troops. Regime officials could not be reached for comment..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2021-11-30
Date of entry/update: 2021-11-30
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Sub-title: A joint statement on Myanmar signed by the governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Description: "We reiterate our grave concern over reports of ongoing human rights violations and abuses by the Myanmar Security Forces across the country, including credible reports of sexual violence and torture, especially in Chin State, Sagaing Region and Magwe Region. In Chin State, it is reported the military has burned homes, churches and an orphanage in Thantlang village, and has targeted humanitarian organisations. More than 40,000 people are reported to have been displaced in Chin State and 11,000 in Magwe Region as a result of recent violence. Reports of internet shutdowns and other methods of communication in Chin State and other areas of the country are also troubling. Communities impacted by violence need access to information to keep themselves safe. We are concerned about allegations of weapons stockpiling and attacks by the military, including shelling and airstrikes, use of heavy weapons, and the deployment of thousands of troops accompanying what security forces assert are counter-terrorism operations, which are disproportionately impacting civilians. We also note our increasing concern at armed clashes in Rakhine State in early November. The current situation and reports by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar raise acute concerns about the risks of future violence and atrocities across Myanmar, and what the international community can and should be doing to prevent such atrocities. We welcome the Press Statement by the UN Security Council on 10 November, which called for the immediate cessation of violence, protection of civilians, and full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access. We call for the respect of human rights and the immediate cessation of all human rights violations and abuses, and violence against civilian populations. To that end, we call on the international community to suspend all operational support to the military, and to cease the transfer of arms, materiel, dual-use equipment, and technical assistance to the military and its representatives. We encourage the international community to work together to prevent future atrocities in Myanmar, including by supporting justice and accountability for those responsible for atrocities. The situation in Myanmar has an impact on regional security. We reiterate our support for the ASEAN Five Point Consensus, noting in particular the call for a cessation of violence and for genuine engagement with ASEAN`s Special Envoy in leading inclusive dialogues aimed at peace. Recalling the horrific violence perpetrated against Rohingya in Rakhine State in 2017, we call on Myanmar Security Forces to immediately end the violence being perpetrated across the country. We will continue to work closely with ASEAN, the UN and the wider international community to promote accountability and support a lasting resolution to the current crisis and a return to the path of democracy..."
Source/publisher: Govt. UK (London)
2021-11-26
Date of entry/update: 2021-11-27
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Description: "SITUATION AT A GLANCE 3 MILLION People in Need of Humanitarian Assistance in Burma UN – July 2021 209,500 People Displaced Since February Who Remain IDPs in Burma UNHCR – September 2021 126,000 IDPs—Originally Displaced in 2012—in Rakhine State IDP Sites UN – June 2021 1.4 MILLION People in Need of Humanitarian Assistance in Cox’s Bazar UN – May 2021 902,947 Refugees in Cox’s Bazar UNHCR – September 2021 Clashes and insecurity continue to generate displacement in Burma. The NUG declares a people’s defensive war against the MAF in early September, further escalating tensions. Humanitarian activities in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps resume in mid-September following the lifting of enhanced COVID-19-related restrictions on relief operations since May. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda ThomasGreenfield announces nearly $180 million in additional USG funding for the Rakhine State and Rohingya refugee crisis on September 22..."
Source/publisher: US Agency for International Development via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2021-09-30
Date of entry/update: 2021-10-30
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Description: "Introduction Nine months since a military coup, the future of Myanmar remains uncertain. Despite a brutal crackdown, millions of people continue to resist the military junta that seized power, both through civil disobedience and armed resistance. What is certain is that a humanitarian and displacement catastrophe has engulfed the country and is likely to get worse. Myanmar's neighbors and leading donors of humanitarian aid, including the United States, cannot allow the complex domestic, regional, and geo-political dynamics preventing resolution of the ongoing violence to prevent the provision of humanitarian aid to those in need---nor refuge to those fleeing for their lives. Since February 1, 2021, the military leaders responsible for decades of repression of minority groups and genocide against the Rohingya have expanded their abuses to target all citizens of Myanmar who oppose their power grab. The junta's actions have resulted in the killing of more than 1,100 civilians and the forcible displacement of more than 200,000 people, and have left an estimated 3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. The junta continues its attacks on civilians, which includes the targeting of health workers and the blocking of aid---in the midst of economic failure and the COVID-19 pandemic---virtually guaranteeing a worsening crisis likely to continue to spill over to countries throughout the region. The junta's actions have also dissolved any hopes of return for those displaced by previous violence by the military. Some 1 million Rohingya refugees remain in trying conditions in Bangladesh, living in the largest refugee settlement in the world. Hundreds of thousands of other ethnic minorities from Myanmar remain in Malaysia and Thailand, and thousands more have recently fled to India. The nature of the atrocities committed by the military junta and the trajectory of the humanitarian and displacement crises demand regional and global attention. Yet, torn by competing interests, the UN Security Council and regional powers, led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have failed to act decisively to address the crisis in Myanmar. Coordinated targeted sanctions, a global arms embargo, and further efforts at accountability are sorely needed. But even as the struggle continues to push actors like China, Russia, and ASEAN countries to address the roots of the crisis, more must be done immediately to mitigate the humanitarian catastrophe engulfing the country and affecting the region. An effective response must start with Myanmar's neighbors holding up global standards of refugee protection and non-refoulement---permitting access to those fleeing for their lives and not returning them to a country where they would not be safe. With the support of global donors, Myanmar's neighbors must also immediately mobilize and facilitate the delivery of aid across borders in coordination with local organizations and ethnic groups controlling border areas. Coordinated global pressure must also be brought to bear on the military junta in Myanmar to demand an end to atrocities, including attacks on health and aid workers, and to secure unfettered access for humanitarian relief. The United States should press ASEAN governments and the members of the UN Security Council to take a stronger stance, but not wait to do so itself. It should simultaneously coordinate increased pressure on the junta through a global coalition of like-minded states, including more forward leaning ASEAN countries. Major donor countries must also continue humanitarian support and increase responsibility sharing with countries like Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Thailand that are hosting those who fled previous persecution at the hands of Myanmar's military. This should include ensuring meaningful access to refuge and resettling refugees, while at the same time urging host countries to permit access to those fleeing violence and to change restrictive refugee policies. The tragedy in Myanmar is far from over. While complex geo-political dynamics may prevent broader measures from being taken to address its root causes, actions to provide humanitarian aid and refuge for those fleeing for their lives need not and must not wait..."
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Source/publisher: Refugees International
2021-10-21
Date of entry/update: 2021-10-21
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Description: "KEY DISPLACEMENT FIGURES 22,000 Estimated refugee movements to neighbouring countries since 1 February 2021 980,000 Refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar in neighbouring countries as of 31 December 2020 219,000 Estimated total internal displacement within Myanmar since 1 February 2021 589,000 Estimated internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Myanmar as of 18 October HIGHLIGHTS Of the total 589,000 internally displaced people in Myanmar, approximately 219,000 have been displaced by armed conflict and unrest since 1 February 2021, while numbers of refugees who have fled to neighboring countries remained steady at some 22,000. The majority of those displaced internally since 1 February—some 155,000 IDPs—remain displaced in South-East Myanmar and Shan State (South), including over 4,000 people newly displaced in the last two weeks by clashes between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) or people’s defence forces (PDFs) in Thayetchaung Township, Tanintharyi Region, and between the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) in Mongkaing Township, Shan State (South). New displacement was also observed in Thantlang and Matupi townships, Chin State, as armed conflict escalated. Small-scale returns have been observed in some parts of the country, such as Yebyu Township, Tanintharyi Region, and Myaung and Kani townships in Sagaing region, following a pattern of temporary and fluid displacement in which people seek immediate refuge in nearby forests or safe locations, then return home once fighting in their villages subsides. With fuel and other commodities becoming scarce as prices rise sharply, IDPs and other vulnerable communities—such as the Rohingya in Rakhine State—are at risk of becoming increasingly isolated due to transport challenges that impact both humanitarian access and livelihood opportunities. Electricity cuts and communications disruptions continue in much of South-East Myanmar, while prolonged internet shutdowns have been reported in Sagaing Region and Kachin State’s Hpakant Township. The COVID-19 pandemic also continues to spread among IDPs, with new cases reported in Demoso and Hpruso townships in Kayah State, despite COVID-19 positive rates declining nationally. At the same time, ongoing security concerns—ranging from increasing explosions and landmines in the South-East to vandalism and destruction of private property and religious sites in the North-West—continue to make it extremely difficult for IDPs to meet their basic needs..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2021-10-20
Date of entry/update: 2021-10-20
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Description: "Nearly 1,000 villagers in Thayetchaung Township, Tanintharyi Region, have been displaced by fighting between civilian resistance fighters and junta troops, said Dawna Tanintharyi, a humanitarian group helping those left homeless. Clashes broke out after junta troops raided villages in Taung Pyauk to the east of the Dawei-Myeik road in Dawei District on Sept. 28, detaining civilians and torching houses. “Nearly 1,000 villagers have fled their homes since the raids. The numbers will increase if the clashes continue. As there are still no camps they have to cope with what they have. We are consulting to set up camps,” said a Dawna member. Daung Min, a resistance group, confronted regime troops following the raids. It said it clashed with junta troops four times since late September. People lack food and medicine and junta troops are tightly controlling the roads, making it difficult to supply those displaced. “They said their food will barely last a week. We have difficulties transporting food to them. They also need medicine,” said the Dawna member. “More people will be displaced and the problems will increase if clashes continue. [The PDFs and junta troops] should stop fighting until the civilians have escaped. Those displaced need aid and they cannot receive any supplies,” said a resident..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2021-10-08
Date of entry/update: 2021-10-08
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Description: "A large proportion of more than 76,000 children in Myanmar who have been forced to flee their homes since the February coup could go hungry as their families share a single meal per day, Save the Children has warned. Citing the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, the charity said on Monday that around 206,000 people have been displaced by violence since the coup. Of them, 76,000 are children and many are sheltering in forests during torrential rain under tarpaulins without enough food, it reported. “While the world’s attention has moved on, a hunger crisis is unfolding in Myanmar,” Save the Children said. “Children are already going hungry and very soon they will start to succumb to disease and malnutrition.” Myanmar is seeing growing popular resistance to military rule in response to attacks on peaceful protests. The junta has retaliated with brutal raids on villages suspected of harboring resistance fighters while torching houses and making arbitrary arrests, particularly in Sagaing and Magwe regions, Chin and Kayah states. While the displaced people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and food, delivery of aid is often blocked or restricted by the junta. A volunteer at a displacement camp in Kayah State said hunger was a huge concern for displaced families. “In the beginning, they received public donations or from charities that were helping people in the camps. But now donations are limited because people are being prevented from going to the camps. Some rice bags were donated and every family got just five cups. That’s not much for a family of seven people to live off,” the volunteer told Save the Children. In Kayah State, around 22,000 people fled their homes in September alone, according to the UN, which said more than 79,000 people, including around 29,000 children, are displaced in the state. Earlier this year, the World Food Programme estimated that the number of children in the country going hungry could more than double to 6.2 million this year, up from 2.8 million in February..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2021-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2021-10-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Monday 4 October 2021 – More than 76,000 children[i] in Myanmar have been forced to flee their homes since the coup on 1 February as armed conflict has erupted in several parts of the country, Save the Children said today. Most of the displaced children are living outside in the jungle, with nothing but tarpaulins held up with bamboo sticks to protect them from the torrential monsoon rain. Many families do not have adequate food supplies and are sharing just one meal between them per day, Save the Children said. Since the coup, 206,000 people have been displaced across the country. In Kayah State in southeastern Myanmar – a displacement hotspot - around 22,000 people fled their homes in September alone, according to the UN. More than 79,000 people – including around 29,000 children – are currently displaced in the state[ii]. One town, Demoso, has been left completely empty after its entire population fled violent clashes there last month. A UN human rights envoy warned in June that Kayah State could see “mass deaths from starvation, disease, and exposure”. With access to food and life-saving services blocked, displaced families were reported to have been living on only rice broth. Cherry*, 33, has been living in a displacement camp in a forest since she fled her home in Demoso Township five months ago with her husband and their two children. The family is living under a small makeshift tarpaulin shelter. Cherry* is pregnant with her third child, and faces the prospect of giving birth outside without access to medical care. “I cannot even describe in words the pain I feel,” Cherry* told Save the Children. “My delivery date is close, and I’m so worried about the baby because I’m living in this camp. I can’t even think about eating nutritious food, as we have to eat whatever we can get. I’m also worried about what I’m going to feed my baby after its born. All we have is donated food and we have to eat whatever there is – it’s not the right food for a baby.” In many parts of the country aid agencies have been unable to reach families in need due to ongoing conflict and restrictions on delivery of aid. Many displaced families are relying on donations from local people for food and essentials. U Tun* and his family fled their home with nothing when fighting in their hometown of Demoso escalated in May. The family is unable to return home as their house was set alight in the conflict along with everything they own. “I was only able to bring a few important identity documents, and I fled with my family. Now, we are living on a hill in a temporary shelter. It is very difficult to get food and we have to rely on donations because all of our property was destroyed and we can’t go home. Other people here are also suffering like us,” U Tun* told Save the Children. Save the Children warned that thousands of displaced children could go hungry without urgent food aid. Some 60% of Kayah families surveyed by Save the Children in April said they relied on farming as their primary source of food, but had been uprooted from their farms by the conflict. Earlier this year, the WFP estimated that the number of children in the country going hungry could more than double to 6.2 million in the next six months, up from 2.8 million prior to February. Esther*, a volunteer at a displacement camp in Kayah State, said hunger was a huge concern for displaced families. “In the beginning they received some donations from local people or charities that were helping people in the camps. But now donations are limited because people are being prevented from going to the camps. We got some bags of rice bags donated, and when we divided it, every household got just five cups of rice per family. That’s not much for a family of seven people to live off for long,” Esther* told Save the Children. Save the Children said: “While the world’s attention has moved on, a hunger crisis is unfolding in Myanmar. Tens of thousands of children across the country who have fled their homes are living outside in jungles or sheltering in temples, many of them with nothing but a tarpaulin sheet to protect them from the torrential monsoon rains. Families are living on next to nothing, sharing just one meal a day between six or seven people. Children are already going hungry, and very soon they will start to succumb to disease and malnutrition. “Displaced families urgently need tents, food, clean water, medical care and sanitation. Our teams will continue doing everything they can to get children and their families the help they need, but we urgently need access to displaced families to deliver our life-saving services. “As long as the violence continues, more families will be forced to flee in search of safety. We call on all parties to protect children’s rights and keep them out of harm’s way. This goes beyond protecting them from the dangers of conflict – children need to get back to school, and they need support to process the trauma they have experienced. Myanmar children have shown incredible strength and resilience, but they cannot be expected to keep carrying such a heavy load.” Save the Children and its partners in Myanmar are providing food assistance and essential items to families who need it most. It provides life-saving health and nutrition services, as well as getting children back into learning and supporting them with their mental and physical health and wellbeing..."
Source/publisher: Save the Children (London)
2021-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2021-10-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "KATHRYN GIFFIN The Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) overthrew the democratically elected government in a coup d'état on 1 February 2021. A violent military crackdown and civilian armed resistance followed, pushing displacement to record levels. Over 236,000 people fled their homes in the first half of the year, the majority since February. This is the highest number of new displacements ever recorded in Myanmar, and three times more than the 70,000 recorded for all of 2020. As violence surges and the humanitarian situation worsens, our understanding of the true scale of the crisis remains limited. THE COUP IS FUELLING OLD AND NEW CONFLICTS  Conflict is not unheard of in Myanmar. The country is home to some of the world's longest-running civil wars and about 505,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), as of December 2020. However, in recent years, fighting has been localised, with Rakhine State accounting for 80 percent of new conflict displacements last year. The coup changed this. Many of the country's Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) have opposed the military takeover, bringing new intensity to simmering conflicts. In Kachin State, after two years with no new displacement, fighting between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the MAF reignited in March. Since then, more than 11,000 people have fled. In the country's southeast, clashes between the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the MAF have driven small-scale displacement for decades but, following an escalation on 27 March, the MAF launched airstrikes in the area for the first time in 20 years, displacing 40,000 people over three days. These areas have experienced conflict in the past, but the coup is also driving insecurity in previously unaffected states. Since April, local civilian resistance forces, or People's Defense Forces (PDFs), have emerged to defend anti-coup protestors and repel military attacks. As the military responded violently to PDFs, hostilities forced tens of thousands to flee. In the northwestern state of Chin, fighting between the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) and the MAF erupted in April. By mid-May, the MAF seized the town of Mindat, and 9,000 people were displaced as a result. In June, fighting spread to Hakha township and neighboring Magway Region, bringing the number of IDPs to 24,000. On the opposite side of the country in Kayah State, violence between the Karenni People's Defense Force (KPDF) and the MAF exploded on 21 May, forcing one-third of the state's population to flee. IDMC has never recorded a conflict displacement in Kayah, but today, it is the state with most new displacements so far this year. THE TRUE SCALE OF DISPLACEMENT REMAINS UNKNOWN  Displacement is surging in these areas, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Humanitarian access in Myanmar is dependent on travel authorisations which are rarely granted. Data from the Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU) paints a bleak picture of how this has worsened, with humanitarian presence in the country decreasing by 27 percent between August 2020 and May 2021. This limited humanitarian access, coupled with restrictions on press and growing insecurity, has hampered data collection efforts across Myanmar. In areas where humanitarian presence was already limited before the coup, the situation is particularly dire. Increased insecurity since February has potentially displaced thousands in these areas. By April, reports of striking workers being evicted from government housing and tens of thousands fleeing neighbourhoods in cities like Yangon and Mandalay were common. At the same time, Sagaing Region became a hotspot of resistance, with masses of people reportedly fleeing Kani, Kale, and Depayin townships, though as of 1 July, only 5,000 IDPs have been confirmed by UNHCR. In these cases, available data is based on a patchwork of media reports with unverified and differing figures, making it challenging to paint a comprehensive picture of what is happening Myanmar. Even if these data gaps were filled, we need more than just a headcount of displaced people, which often excludes the temporary and repeated displacement that is common in Myanmar. Humanitarian partners indicate this is the case in Sagaing or Kayin, where people flee and return home once fighting ceases, sometimes permanently, sometimes for just long enough to gather supplies before retreating to the forests in fear of further fighting. In Mindat, the shelling of IDP sites means the real number of displacements could be higher than what is reported since people are forced to flee repeatedly. AN ADEQUATE RESPONSE REQUIRES ADEQUATE DATA The system for monitoring displacement in Myanmar relies on a network of local partners. With limited reach in certain areas and a tendency to provide a snapshot of IDPs at a given time rather than the dynamic movements described above, estimates are likely a significant undercount. This has implications for humanitarian response and displaced people, particularly as the political crisis spirals into a multi-faceted humanitarian one, with IDPs in increasingly dire need. As flooding swept through Kayin, Mon, and Rakhine in July, all home to thousands of conflict IDPs, the response was hampered by movement restrictions and shortages of funding, both of which have deteriorated since February. The coup's economic fallout is likely to push millions into poverty, forcing IDPs to choose between staying hidden and returning to insecure villages to sustain their livelihoods. The near-collapse of Myanmar's health system and reports of COVID-19 patients fleeing are reminders that safe healthcare is not possible in many conflict-affected areas. Local civil society organisations are filling the gap left by constrained international organisations and are best positioned to collect information on displacement. The lack of data, particularly in urban areas, is recognised in the Interim Emergency Response Plan, which targets two million people in areas affected by conflict since February. However, the scale of and severity of the crisis could be far higher. Tens of thousands of displacements are likely uncounted and IDPs in previously unaffected areas have not built up stockpiles of supplies, worsening their resilience to shocks and aggravating their humanitarian needs. We cannot garner the political will to strengthen local capacity and establish the international cooperative effort required to address the crisis in Myanmar without data that reflects its true scale..."
Source/publisher: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2021-09-30
Date of entry/update: 2021-10-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Crisis exacerbates gender inequalities and disproportionately affects women and girls. Naw Moh Moh Than has an ambition to become a teacher one day, however, there have been several disruptions in this journey as armed conflict forced her and her family to an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Kayin State when she was in secondary school which led to an abrupt halt in her education. With the help of one her teachers, she was determined to finish her schooling but the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping through Myanmar became another stumbling block for her. Yet, this has not deterred her determination. Naw Moh Moh Than was one of the many who joined the UN Women supported sewing training for women in the IDP camp where she lives. She was taught how to produce cloth masks which were then purchased by humanitarian actors and distributed to women in need across the State. “I was really happy to join the sewing training because if I can master this skill, I can also pass it on to the others in the village. When the schools reopen again, I will try to finish my matriculation but in the meantime, the sewing skills that I have learned during this training will really benefit me”, she said. Crises impact women, girls, boys and men of all ages differently. During crises, whether born of conflict or disasters, women often endure extreme hardships, such as increased violence and insecurity, restricted mobility and additional care, domestic and livelihood responsibilities. Women are girls are more vulnerable to crisis because pre-existing gender inequalities limit women’s and girl’s access to information and resources which makes it more difficult for them to be resilient and recover from disasters. According to OCHA, 77 per cent of the people living in IDP camps in Myanmar by the end of 2020 were women and girls and they constitute the majority of those who have been newly displaced since then. At the same time, women and girls have unique roles in resilience building, disaster response and recovery. They are often the first responders when disaster strikes, tending to the needs of their families and communities and coping with the adverse impact on their livelihood and possessions. Research also shows that when women are involved in prevention and crisis response, it leads to better outcomes and lowers risk. Daw Zin Mar Aye was a teacher and a stay-at-home mother in Kachin State, but she always felt there something more that she could do. Using her natural leadership skills, she decided to attend trainings – many of which were provided by UN Women – and learn more about women in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, their economic challenges and vulnerabilities to various forms of abuse. She went on to form a network of women of various ethnic groups, promoting peace and women empowerment and prevention of gender violence. In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, and through a UN Women programme, she began to support women from IDP camps who were experiencing gender-based violence during the pandemic. In Myanmar, like in the rest of the world, UN Women has been working over the past few years with humanitarian actors to ensure that the emergency response takes into account the specific needs of women and girls; that women and girls are included in humanitarian response efforts and that women’s leadership is leveraged in that process; and that women civil society organizations are given the space and resources to participate in the response. Since the beginning of the year, UN Women has for instance worked with its local partners to distribute hygiene and dignity kits, and COVID-19 protection kits to over 20,000 women and over 3, 500 men with a particular focus on the most vulnerable households and women living in IDP camps and crisis affected areas in Kachin and Rakhine States. UN Women further currently supports over 10,000 vulnerable women including IDP women and women migrant workers with income generation and livelihood initiatives such as cash transfers, livelihood and handicraft training, entrepreneurship training, climate smart agriculture, and cash grants for the establishment of small businesses in Kachin, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine States and Tanintharyi Region. In Rakhine and Kachin, UN Women is also partnering with UNFPA in order to provide support for women and girls survivors of intimate partner violence, address the issues of domestic violence during the pandemic and mitigate and prevent gender-based violence in Myanmar, including through the provision of financial aid, legal counsel and psychosocial support. During the same period, and to promote civil society’s participation in response efforts, UN Women has further provided leadership training to close to 160 women community-based organizations and youth groups in Mon and Kayin States. “Throughout the history of Myanmar, women have proven to be active agents in responding to crisis and key to the promotion of peace. We must step up our efforts to place women and women’s organization at the centre of response to the current crisis”, explained Nicolas Burniat, Country Representative for UN Women in Myanmar. UN Women’s work in Myanmar is made possible thanks to the generous support of the governments of Canada, Finland, Germany, Japan and Sweden, as well as contributions from the Women, Peace and Humanitarian Fund and the OCHA Central Emergency Response Fund..."
Source/publisher: United Nations Myanmar
2021-09-23
Date of entry/update: 2021-09-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "22,000 Estimated refugee movements to neighbouring countries since 1 February 2021 980,000 Refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar in neighbouring countries as of 31 December 2020 208,000 Estimated total internal displacement within Myanmar since 1 February 2021 370,000 Estimated internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Myanmar as of 31 December 2020 HIGHLIGHTS Displacement within Myanmar substantially increased in the first half of September, following new violence and military operations. There are now approximately 208,000 people displaced within Myanmar due to conflict and unrest since 1 February 2021, an 18% increase over the previous two weeks. IDPs across the country continue to have extremely limited access to basic services, especially healthcare. Although COVID-19 positivity rates have declined and some related restrictions have been eased, the pandemic continues to place additional limitations on IDPs’ livelihoods as well as humanitarian access to them. New displacement has taken place in Chin State, Magway and Sagaing regions, as well as Kayah State, but may be short-term if IDPs are able to return to their places of origin once fighting subsides. In Kayah State, for example, the re-escalation of conflict in Demoso Township displaced over 21,000 people, but some 18,000 IDPs returned to their places of origin during the reporting period. Continuing armed clashes throughout Southeast Myanmar also displaced people in Tanintharyi Region, and Kayin State. In Chin State, Magway and Sagaing regions, the newly displaced fled increased fighting between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and both ethnic armed organizations and people’s defence forces, as well as the continued destruction of private property and desecration of religious sites. In Kachin State, continuing clashes between the MAF and Kachin Independence Army additionally displaced several hundred people in Waingmaw and Putao townships..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2021-09-21
Date of entry/update: 2021-09-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "In some areas of Myanmar during this year’s devastating monsoon season, floods have been up to six feet [two metres] deep. As rain battered homes and water levels began to rise, Mi Sazai’s anxiety levels soared. The relentless downpour left 21-year-old Mi Sazai and the other nine members of her family – four of them children – stranded for two weeks in the upper room of their wooden home in Kyaik Maraw Township, in the southern State of Mon. “I was scared that our house would be submerged,” she says. “And I was scared of a landslide.” Earlier this year a landslide at her school killed one person, and she also recalls the deaths of 60 people two years ago in a nearby village, after the massive landslide that followed heavy rains like these. “I was also worried about my sick mother running out of her medicines, and all of us having no food.” The family desperately tried to cope by moving their belongings to the second floor, reducing meals from three to two a day, and collecting and boiling rainwater to drink. “The only one who didn’t worry was my three-year-old niece as, fortunately, she didn’t know what was going on,” says Mi Sazai. Monsoon season – one more terrifying challenge Since July 25, floods have destroyed thousands of homes in townships in southern and eastern Myanmar and in the western State of Rakhine. The rains come amidst a third wave of COVID-19 and violent clashes between the military and local armed groups. UNICEF is working with local NGO partners to distribute relief supplies to the communities affected by the floods. For example, in Mi Sazai’s village, UNICEF partnered with a local NGO, the Women and Child Organization. Its director, Hong Sar Htaw, explains that boats were used to reach stranded households; teams also organized distribution of supplies to those taking refuge on higher ground at monastery sites, including water purification sachets, soap, disinfectant, buckets, sanitary packs, buckets and flip flops. Provided by UNICEF, these items reach more than 2,000 flood victims including Mi Sazai’s family. “We were so thankful to receive this help,” she says. Although the monsoon floods occur each year, Hong Sar says that this season has proved the most challenging she’s known in the 15 years since she started working with Women and Child Organization. “We are having to take risks – risking our health with COVID-19 and our safety due to the security situation. So, we are thankful to UNICEF for supporting our efforts,” she says. Hong Sar says she is particularly concerned for mothers-to-be and the sick because health services in the area have been extremely limited. And although the waters have subsided, they have left behind thick mud and overflowing sewage drains. People are at risk of water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea and foot infections – many walk barefoot, especially women. “We still need more supplies, particularly medical supplies and food as well as hygiene education for the affected communities,” says Hong Sar. Threatened livelihoods Many people have lost their livelihoods, particularly casual labourers who worked in the paddy rice fields which are now inundated with flood water. COVID-19 travel restrictions and security measures make it impossible for them to seek work elsewhere. Hong Sar says many are resorting to money lenders to pay for food for their families. “They get a loan for three months at seven per cent interest. If they can’t pay it off, then they borrow again with additional interest. They are caught up in a vicious cycle of debt.” UNICEF’s humanitarian efforts continue. UNICEF has recently completed 20 delivery missions to other states which include 5,000 hygiene kits benefitting 25,000 people, 200 first aid kits for 30,650 people and water purification powder for 18,240 people. UN official figures suggest that, in total, about three million people in Myanmar need urgent assistance. Meanwhile, humanitarian supplies continue to be delivered to Mi Sazai’s community. “We will continue to deliver much-needed humanitarian supplies despite any danger and other challenges we may face,” says UNICEF programme officer Ye Min Aung. “I want to use my expertise to help my community.” Mi Sazai is determined to find a way to do her part too. As a geography student, she is learning about the impact of climate change. “I want to research climate change to find out how we can prevent this from happening again,” she says with passion.....ယခုနှစ်ရဲ့ ဆိုးရွားလှတဲ့ မုတ်သုန်ရာသီအတွင်း မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရဲ့ နေရာအချို့မှာ ရေအမြင့်ခြောက်ပေ[နှစ်မီတာ]ခန့်အထိ မြင့်တက်ခဲ့ပါတယ်။ သည်းထန်စွာရွာသွန်းနေတဲ့မိုးက အိမ်တွေကို အဆက်မပြတ် ရိုက်ခတ်ပြီး ရေမျက်နှာပြင် စပြီးမြင့်တက်လာချိန်မှာတော့ မိဆာဇိုင်ရဲ့ စိုးရိမ်စိတ်တွေ တဟုန်ထိုးမြင့်တက်လာပါတော့တယ်။ မရပ်မနား အညှာအတာကင်းမဲ့စွာ ရွာသွန်းနေတဲ့မိုးကြောင့် အသက် ၂၁ နှစ်အရွယ် မိဆာဇိုင်နဲ့ ကလေးငယ်လေးယောက်ပါဝင်တဲ့ အခြားမိသားစုဝင် ကိုးဦးတို့ဟာ မွန်ပြည်နယ်တောင်ပိုင်း ကျိုက်မရောမြို့နယ်က သူတို့ရဲ့ သစ်သားအိမ်အပေါ်ထပ်မှာ နှစ်ပတ်ခန့်သောင်တင်နေခဲ့ပါတယ်။ “ကျွန်မတို့အိမ် မြုပ်သွားတော့မလားလို့ ကျွန်မအရမ်းကြောက်နေခဲ့တာ” လို့ သူမကဆိုပါတယ်။ “ပြီးတော့ မြေပြိုမှာကိုလည်း ကြောက်နေခဲ့ရတယ်။” ယခုနှစ်အစောပိုင်းက သူမကျောင်းမှာ မြေပြိုမှုတစ်ခုဖြစ်ပွားခဲ့ပြီး လူတစ်ယောက်သေဆုံးခဲ့ရပါတယ်။ လွန်ခဲ့တဲ့ နှစ်နှစ်ကလည်း အနီးအနားရွာတစ်ခုမှာ ဒီလိုမိုးသည်းထန်စွာ ရွာသွန်းပြီးနောက်မှာ ဧရာမမြေပြိုမှုကြီးတစ်ခုဖြစ်ခဲ့တဲ့အတွက် လူပေါင်း ၆၀ ခန့်သေဆုံးခဲ့ရတာကိုလည်း ပြန်အမှတ်ရမိနေပါတယ်။ “ကျန်းမာရေးမကောင်းတဲ့ ကျွန်မအမေအတွက် သူ့ဆေးတွေပြတ်သွားမလား၊ ပြီးတော့ ကျွန်မတို့အားလုံးအတွက် စားစရာပြတ်သွားမလားလို့လည်း ကျွန်မတွေးပူခဲ့ရတယ်။” တစ်မိသားစုလုံး ပစ္စည်းတွေကို ဒုတိယထပ်ကိုရွှေ့ခဲ့ကြရတယ်၊ တစ်နေ့ကို ထမင်းသုံးနပ်မစားတော့ဘဲ နှစ်နပ်စာပဲ လျှော့စားခဲ့ကြရတယ်၊ ရေသောက်ဖို့ မိုးရေခံပြီး ကျိုသောက်ရင်း ခက်ခက်ခဲခဲ ကြိုးစားနေခဲ့ကြရတာဖြစ်ပါတယ်။ “စိတ်မပူတဲ့သူဆိုလို့ သုံးနှစ်အရွယ် ကျွန်မတူမလေးပဲရှိတယ်၊ ကံကောင်းစွာနဲ့ပဲ သူက ဘာတွေဖြစ်နေမှန်းမသိခဲ့ဘူး” လို့ မိဆာဇိုင်က ပြောပြပါတယ်။ မုတ်သုန်ရာသီ - နောက်ထပ်ကြောက်မက်ဖွယ်ရာ စိန်ခေါ်မှုတစ်ခု ဇူလိုင်လ ၂၅ ရက်ကစပြီး မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတောင်ပိုင်းနဲ့ အရှေ့ပိုင်း၊ ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ် အနောက်ပိုင်းက မြို့နယ်တွေမှာ ရေကြီးရေလျှံမှုတွေကြောင့် အိမ်ထောင်ပေါင်းများစွာ ပျက်စီးခဲ့ရပါတယ်။ ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ တတိယလှိုင်းအပြင် စစ်တပ်နဲ့ ဒေသခံလက်နက်ကိုင်အဖွဲ့တွေရဲ့ ပြင်းထန်တဲ့ ထိပ်တိုက်တွေ့မှုတွေအကြား သည်းထန်တဲ့မိုးကပါ ဝင်ရောက်လာခဲ့ပါတယ်။ ယူနီဆက်က ရေဘေးသင့်ပြည်သူတွေထံ ကယ်ဆယ်ရေးပစ္စည်းများ ပေးပို့နိုင်ဖို့အတွက် ဒေသခံ NGO မိတ်ဖက်အဖွဲ့အစည်းတွေနဲ့ လက်တွဲလုပ်ကိုင်လျှက်ရှိပါတယ်။ ဥပမာ မိဆာဇိုင်ရဲ့ ကျေးရွာမှာ ဒေသခံ NGO တစ်ခုဖြစ်တဲ့ မိခင်နှင့်ကလေးစောင့်ရှောက်ရေးအသင်းနဲ့ ယူနီဆက်က လက်တွဲဆောင်ရွက်ခဲ့ပါတယ်။ အသင်းရဲ့ ဒါရိုက်တာဖြစ်တဲ့ ဟုန်ဆာထောက သောင်တင်နေတဲ့အိမ်ထောင်စုတွေဆီရောက်ဖို့ လှေတွေကို အသုံးပြုခဲ့တယ်။ ဘုန်းတော်ကြီးကျောင်းတွေရဲ့ မြေမြင့်ရာနေရာတွေမှာ ခိုလှုံနေကြသူတွေဆီကို အဖွဲ့များဖွဲ့ပြီး ရေသန့်အထုပ်ငယ်တွေ၊ ဆပ်ပြာ၊ ပိုးသတ်ဆေး၊ ရေပုံး၊ သန့်ရှင်းရေးသုံးပစ္စည်းတွေနဲ့ ဖိနပ်တွေအပါအဝင် ကယ်ဆယ်ရေးပစ္စည်းတွေ ပေးပို့ပေးခဲ့ပါတယ်လို့ ရှင်းပြပါတယ်။ ယူနီဆက်ရဲ့ပံ့ပိုးမှုနဲ့ ဒီကယ်ဆယ်ရေးပစ္စည်းတွေဟာ မိဆာဇိုင်ရဲ့ မိသားစုအပါအဝင် ရေဘေးသင့်ပြည်သူ ၂,၀၀၀ ကျော်ထံ ရောက်ရှိခဲ့ပါတယ်။ “ဒီလိုအကူအညီတွေရရှိတဲ့အတွက် ကျွန်မတို့သိပ်ကျေးဇူးတင်ပါတယ်” လို့ သူကဆိုပါတယ်။ မုတ်သုန်ရာသီ ရေကြီးရေလျှံမှုက နှစ်တိုင်းဖြစ်တတ်ပေမဲ့ ဟောင်ဆာက အခုဒီရာသီကတော့ သူ မိခင်နဲ့ကလေးစောင့်ရှောက်ရေးအသင်းမှာ စလုပ်ခဲ့တဲ့ ၁၅ နှစ်တာအတောအတွင်းမှာတော့ အခက်ခဲဆုံးဆိုတာ သက်သေပြလိုက်တာပဲ။ “ကျွန်မတို့ စွန့်စားလုပ်ဆောင်နေကြရတယ် - ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ကြောင့် ကျန်းမာရေးအန္တရာယ်တွေရော လုံခြုံရေးအခြေအနေတွေကြောင့် ဘေးကင်းလုံခြုံမှုအန္တရာယ်တွေပါ ရှိနေတယ်။ ဒါကြောင့် ကျွန်မတို့ရဲ့ ကြိုးပမ်းမှုတွေကို ပံ့ပိုးပေးတဲ့အတွက် ယူနီဆက်ကို သိပ်ကျေးဇူးတင်ပါတယ်” လို့ သူကပြောပြပါတယ်။ ဟုန်ဆာက သူတို့နယ်မြေက ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ဆောင်မှုတွေဟာ အလွန်အမင်း ကန့်သတ်ခံထားရတဲ့အတွက် မိခင်လောင်းတွေနဲ့ နာမကျန်းဖြစ်နေသူတွေအတွက် အထူးစိုးရိမ်မိတယ်လို့ ဆိုပါတယ်။ ရေကကျသွားတဲ့တိုင်အောင် ထူထဲတဲ့ရွှံ့ညွန်တွေကျန်ရစ်ခဲ့ပြီး မိလ္လာအညစ်အကြေးတွေလည်း လျှံထွက်ကျန်နေခဲ့ပါတယ်။ လူ‌အတော်များများက အထူးသဖြင့် အမျိုးသမီးတွေက ခြေဗလာနဲ့ လမ်း‌လျှောက်သွားနေကြရတဲ့အတွက် ဝမ်းရောဂါလို ခြေဖဝါးကူးစက်နာလို ရေကြောင့်ဖြစ်တဲ့ ရောဂါတွေဖြစ်ပွားဖို့ အန္တရာယ်များလှပါတယ်။ “နောက်ထပ် ထောက်ပံ့ရေးပစ္စည်းတွေ လိုအပ်နေတုန်းပါပဲ၊ အထူးသဖြင့် ဆေးပစ္စည်းတွေနဲ့ ရိက္ခာတွေအပြင် ရေဘေးသင့်အသိုက်အဝန်းအတွက် ကျန်းမာရေးပညာပေးလုပ်ငန်းတွေ လိုအပ်ပါတယ်” လို့ ဟုန်ဆာက ပြောပါတယ်။ ခြိမ်းခြောက်ခံနေရတဲ့ အသက်မွေးဝမ်းကြောင်းလုပ်ငန်းများ လူပေါင်းများစွာရဲ့ အသက်မွေးလုပ်ငန်းတွေ ဆုံးရှုံးခဲ့ရပါတယ်။ အထူးသဖြင့် အခုချိန်မှာ ရေလွှမ်းသွားပြီဖြစ်တဲ့ စပါးစိုက်ခင်းတွေမှာ အလုပ်လုပ်တဲ့ နေ့စားအလုပ်သမားတွေဖြစ်ပါတယ်။ ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ခရီးသွားကန့်သတ်ချက်တွေနဲ့ လုံခြုံရေးအစီအမံတွေကြောင့် သူတို့အနေနဲ့ တခြားနေရာတွေမှာ အလုပ်သွားရှာဖို့လည်း မဖြစ်နိုင်ပါဘူး။ ဟုန်ဆာက လူအတော်များများက မိသားစုစားဝတ်နေရေးအတွက် ငွေတိုးချေးစားသူတွေဆီက ချေးငှားနေကြရပါတယ်။ “သူတို့က သုံးလကို ၇ ကျပ်တိုးနဲ့ ချေးကြတယ်။ မပေးနိုင်ရင် နောက်ထပ်တိုးရင်းပေါင်းနဲ့ ထပ်ချေးကြတယ်။ သူတို့က ရက်စက်လှတဲ့အကြွေးသံသရာထဲ ပိတ်မိနေကြပြီ” လို့ဆိုပါတယ်။ ယူနီဆက်က လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားရေးအကူအညီတွေ ဆက်လက်ပေးနေပါတယ်။ လတ်တလောမှာ ယူနီဆက်က လူပေါင်း ၂၅,၀၀၀ အတွက် တစ်ကိုယ်ရေသန့်ရှင်းရေးသုံးပစ္စည်း ၅,၀၀၀၊ လူ‌ပေါင်း ၃၀,၆၅၀ အတွက် ရှေးဦးသူနာပြုပစ္စည်း ၂၀၀ နဲ့ လူပေါင်း ၁၈,၂၄၀ အတွက် ရေသန့်မှုန့်တွေကို အခြားပြည်နယ်တွေဆီ အဖွဲ့ပေါင်း ၂၀ နဲ့စေလွှတ်ပေးပို့ပြီးဖြစ်ပါတယ်။ ကုလသဂ္ဂတာဝန်ရှိသူများက စုစုပေါင်းအနေဖြင့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံမှာ လူပေါင်းသုံးသန်းနီးပါးခန့် အရေးပေါ်အကူအညီလိုအပ်နေတယ်လို့ အကြံပြုထားပါတယ်။ ဒီအတောအတွင်းမှာ မိဆာဇိုင်တို့ ရပ်ရွာလူထုဆီ လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားရေး အကူအညီတွေ ဆက်လက်ပေးပို့လျှက်ရှိပါတယ်။ “ကျွန်တော်တို့ ဘယ်လိုအန္တရာယ်၊ ဘယ်လိုစိန်ခေါ်မှုတွေ ကြုံနေပါစေ များစွာလိုအပ်နေကြတဲ့ လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားရေးအကူအညီတွေကို ဆက်ပြီးပံ့ပိုးပေးသွားမှာပါ” လို့ ယူနီဆက်မှ အရာရှိတစ်ဦးဖြစ်သူ ဦးရဲမင်းအောင်က ဆိုပါတယ်။ “ကျွန်တော်တို့ရဲ့ လူမှုအသိုက်အဝန်းကို ကူညီဖို့အတွက် ကျွန်တော် ကျွမ်းကျင်တဲ့ပညာကို အသုံးချချင်ပါတယ်။” မိဆာဇိုင်က သူလုပ်နိုင်တဲ့အပိုင်းကို လုပ်နိုင်ဖို့အတွက် နည်းလမ်းရှာဖွေဖို့လည်း ဆုံးဖြတ်ထားပါတယ်။ ပထဝီမေဂျာကျောင်းသူတစ်ဦးအနေနဲ့ သူက ရာသီဥတုပြောင်းလဲမှုရဲ့ အကျိုးသက်ရောက်မှုတွေကို လေ့လာနေပါတယ်။ “ဒီလိုတွေထပ်မဖြစ်ဖို့ ကျွန်မတို့ဘယ်လိုတားဆီးနိုင်မလဲဆိုတာ သိရှိဖို့အတွက် ရာသီဥတုပြောင်းလဲမှုအကြောင်း ကျွန်မသုတေသနလုပ်ချင်ပါတယ်” လို့ သူမက စိတ်ထက်သန်စွာ ပြောပြပါတယ်။..."
Source/publisher: United Nations Myanmar
2021-09-13
Date of entry/update: 2021-09-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "KEY DISPLACEMENT FIGURES 22,000 Estimated refugee movements to neighbouring countries since 1 February 2021 980,000 Refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar in neighbouring countries as of 31 December 2020 176,000 Estimated total internal displacement within Myanmar since 1 February 2021 370,000 Estimated internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Myanmar as of 31 December 2020 HIGHLIGHTS Approximately 176,000 people are now displaced within Myanmar due to conflict and unrest since 1 February 2021. Total displacement declined slightly in recent weeks as some of those displaced in Kayah State and Shan State (South) temporarily returned to their areas of origin to tend to their farms or access healthcare, which was unavailable in areas of displacement. No significant displacement across Myanmar’s borders has been observed in the reporting period. In Thailand, borders remain closed as part of measures related to preventing the spread of COVID-19, though five temporary border crossing points are reportedly operational in Mae Hong Son province for the transport of goods only. Recurrent internal displacement can be expected, however, as the security situation remains volatile inside Myanmar. Armed clashes increased in August across Southeast Myanmar, prompting new displacement in Shan State (South) and Tanintharyi Region. Intensifying conflict displaced hundreds in Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, with civilians reportedly killed and homes and livestock destroyed, while thousands of IDPs in the State were also affected by heavy rains and flooding. In Chin State, key transport routes and Mindat town remain insecure due to continued fighting, resulting in food and medicine shortages. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect IDPs in all States and Regions, with ongoing restrictions on their access to basic needs, health services, and livelihoods, as well as on humanitarian agencies’ access to IDPs. COVID-19 vaccinations are being administered to some IDPs, prioritizing individuals over 65 years old, and in Rakhine State this has included some Rohingya..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2021-09-01
Date of entry/update: 2021-09-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Myanmar junta troops burned donations of rice, other food and tarpaulins intended for more than 2,000 internally displaced people from Kin Ma village in Magwe Region, which was burned down by regime forces, and have planted landmines in the area. In mid-June, almost the entire 240-house village in southern Pauk Township was burned down by junta troops after they suffered heavy casualties during a firefight with civilian resistance fighters near the village. On Tuesday morning, more than 130 junta soldiers used artillery and raided Kin Ma. More than 2,000 villagers fled to forests. Before leaving the village monastery on Wednesday morning, junta troops burned the monastery’s possessions and 34 rice bags, other food and tarpaulins donated for the homeless villagers, according to residents. The troops also destroyed two bags of rice with battery acid. Kin Ma villagers said an unidentified, charred body was found under a burned motorbike near the monastery. Villagers said the body is believed to be one of two residents who was seized by troops while heading to Kin Ma. Two landmines, allegedly laid by regime soldiers, were found in the village. Villagers fear returning because they suspect more explosives will be hidden, a young Kin Ma villager told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. “The junta’s atrocities are unacceptable. We will be pleased when the whole dictatorship disappears,” a villager said. On Thursday morning, around 60 junta troops deployed at Wun Chone village’s monastery near Kin Ma on Tuesday burned fleeing villagers’ possessions, according to residents. Last week, hundreds of junta troops in two detachments raided around 30 villages and scoured forests for civilian resistance fighters in southern Pauk Township while heading to Wun Chone and Kin Ma. More than 30,000 villagers fled into forests to avoid the raids. Around 11 junta troops were killed by resistance landmines on August 27 and 29, according to the People’s Defense Forces in Pauk..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2021-09-02
Date of entry/update: 2021-09-02
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Description: "This regular update, covering humanitarian developments from 28 July to 23 August, is produced by OCHA Myanmar in collaboration with the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group, UNHCR and WHO. The next update will be issued towards the end of September 2021. HIGHLIGHTS • At least 125,000 people have been affected by monsoon floods since 21 July across various regions and states, according to local partners. • Thousands of people have been displaced following armed clashes between the “People’s Defense Forces” (“PDF”) and Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) in Sagaing Region, according to local partners. • In Chin State, clashes between the MAF and “PDF” continue in and around Mindat Township. As of 17 August, close to 16,700 people remain displaced in several townships in the area. • In the south-eastern parts of the country, an estimated 141,200 people remain displaced, mostly in Kayah and Kayin states, due to clashes and insecurity since 1 February. • Food insecurity is becoming an evolving concern, with reports of food shortage in displacement sites and communities in northern Shan and Rakhine states. • In Shan State, population movement remains fluid, with new displacements and returns reported on a regular basis. More than 26,300 people have been displaced across the state since the beginning of 2021; about 6,400 of them remain displaced to date. • Regular humanitarian programmes and COVID-19 related response continue across various parts of the country, despite access challenges and insecurity. • As of 27 August, 45 per cent of the US$276.5 million requested under the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), and over 10 per cent of the US$109 million requested under the Interim Emergency Response Plan have been funded, according to the FTS. SITUATION OVERVIEW OVER 125,000 PEOPLE AFFECTED BY MONSOON FLOODS: Monsoon floods have been reported across the country since 21 July in a number of states and regions as torrential rains resulted in river overflows. As of midAugust, an estimated 125,000 people have been affected by flooding, mainly in Kachin, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine and eastern areas of Shan states as well as in Mandalay and Tanintharyi regions, according to local partners. There have also been reports of civilian deaths and injury, as well as damage and destruction to houses and other civilian property. In Kachin State, flash floods and a landslide on 12 August reportedly destroyed at least 15 shelters in Maga Yang camp in Waingmaw Township, which hosts about 1,600 internally displaced people (IDP); one civilian was reportedly killed during the floods. Similarly, several townships in eastern areas of Shan State experienced flash floods and landslides between 11 and 18 August. A local community, three temporary displacement sites and a relocation site in Muse Township, which hosts around 350 displaced families have been affected. Similar incidents took place in Mogoke Township of Mandalay Region in the second week of August, with floods and landslides reportedly killing four persons, including a child, and washing away a number of houses. In Rakhine State, at least 10 villages in Toungup Township have been flooded due to heavy rains on 6 August, affecting some 1,300 houses, a hospital and paddy fields, according to local partners. Heavy rains and floods have further aggravated an already extremely challenging situation in the south-eastern parts of the country. In Kayin State, at least five townships have been affected. Another nine townships were affected by floods in Mon State, while in Tanintharyi Region, at least three townships have been affected. Local humanitarian actors, volunteers and communities responded to the needs of affected families, including with organizing temporary shelter for those who had to be evacuated to safer areas. The floods have also damaged crops, and according to initial assessments, at least 2,000 acres of paddy fields in Kyainseikgyi Township in Kayin State have been impacted, with farmers facing difficulties with seeds and expenses to cover replanting of the paddy. An additional 40,000 cultivated land has been affected across different states and regions, according to partners. NEW DISPLACEMENT IN SAGAING REGION: An unconfirmed number of people, reported to be in thousands, have been displaced across at least six townships in Sagaing Region due to clashes between the MAF and the “PDF” and insecurity in recent weeks, according to various sources. The exact number of people displaced, and their current host locations is still difficult to verify due to access challenges, fluidity and the complex nature of the situation. According to initial information, many IDPs are hiding in nearby forests. There had been limited presence of humanitarian personnel in Sagaing Region prior to this worsening situation in the area. Humanitarian partners are making efforts to scale up coordination to assess needs and provide the necessary support to the newly displaced. VOLATILE SITUATION IN THE SOUTH-EAST: The security situation in south-eastern Myanmar remains volatile, particularly across Kayah and Kayin as well as southern areas of neighbouring Shan State. Sporadic clashes between the MAF and the “Karenni Nationalities Defense Force” (“KNDF”), “PDFs” and “Karen National Liberation Army” (“KNLA”) continue to be reported. In Kayah State, hostilities between the MAF and the “KNDF” have increased up since 3 August in Bawlake, Demoso, Hpasawng, Hpruso and Loikaw townships. In the southern areas of Shan State, clashes between the alliance of “KNDF” with local “PDFs” and the combined forces of the MAF with the “Pa-O National Army” have also been reported in Pekon and Pinlaung townships. In Kayin State, armed clashes, including artillery fire, have been reported between the “KNLA” and the alliance of the MAF with the Border Guard Force (BGF) in Hpapun Township since 1 August. Sporadic small-scale clashes between the MAF and the “KNLA” and “PDFs” have also been reported in Mon State, eastern Bago and Tanintharyi regions. As of 23 August, UNHCR estimates that 141,200 people remained internally displaced across south-eastern Myanmar as a result of armed clashes and insecurity; this includes 75,300 in Kayah, 17,700 in southern Shan State (South- Pekon and Hsihseng townships), 47,100 in Kayin and 1,100 in Mon states. Population movement in affected areas remains fluid; initial reports indicated at least 4,000 people were newly displaced in Kayah State during the reporting period. Despite intermittent fighting, returns have been observed in Kayah State and Shan State (South) in recent weeks as IDPs did not have access to healthcare in the displacement areas and some of them needed to tend to farming in their areas of origin. Many IDPs were previously sheltered by host families and living in difficult, crowded and make-shift conditions with limited resources. Renewed or recurrent displacements from areas of return can be expected should the security situation deteriorate. The majority of displaced populations and those otherwise affected by hostilities remain in need food, health care, shelter, WASH and protection services, despite the efforts of operational partners and local communities. UNHCR and partners, for example, have been able to distribute non-food items to around 10,000 individuals in Kayin State and Bago Region since 1 February. Mounting a comprehensive response, however, has been a challenge since the escalation of clashes due to access restrictions, caused by active conflicts, poor road conditions (including as a result of monsoon floods), COVID-19-related travel restrictions and bureaucratic impediments. CONTINUED VIOLENCE IN AND AROUND MINDAT: The security situation in Chin State remains volatile with renewed and intense fighting reported between the MAF and “PDF” in Falam, Hakha, Matupi, Mindat and Thantlang townships. In Mindat Township, indiscriminate artillery shelling has been reported, which forced an unconfirmed number of people from Shet and Muitui villages as well as surrounding areas to flee to safer locations. The exact locations of people newly displaced and their humanitarian needs could not be identified due to access and communications challenges. As of 17 August, close to 16,700 people remained displaced in several townships in and around Chin State. Despite the volatile security situation, there have also been reports of small-scale returns among the displaced population, with some 2,170 people having returned to Thantlang during the reporting period. Humanitarian assistance to people who remain displaced and those otherwise affected remains hindered. Food and non-food assistance have been distributed to the IDPs in urban Mindat in recent weeks; however, significant needs still remain, especially in the rural areas of Mindat and other townships in Chin State. This displacement is in addition to some 9,850 people who remain displaced across 27 sites in Paletwa Township in Chin State due to the earlier conflict between the MAF and the “Arakan Army” (“AA”). FOOD SHORTAGE IN SHAN AND RAKHINE: Food insecurity is becoming an evolving humanitarian concern, with reports of food shortage in displacement sites and communities in northern Shan and Rakhine states. In Kutkai Township in northern Shan, urgent food needs have been reported in five relocation/resettlement sites in Mine Yu Lay Village, which hosts more than 1,000 IDPs since 2013. Similar food needs have been reported in other relocation sites across northern Shan, including Hseni and Kutkai and among local communities in Manton townships, since early August. In Rakhine State, 900 IDPs in Kan Htaung Gyi displacement site in Myebon Township have been facing food shortage since June. Humanitarian partners reported being unable to deliver food assistance to the site due to access challenges and difficulties withdrawing cash. Food distributions in other displacement sites have also been delayed since July. Shortage of food has also been reported among some 200 IDPs in Bodawmaw Monastery displacement site in Sittwe Township, as well as at the Nyaung Chaung displacement site in Kyauktaw Township. Despite these challenges, 1.2 million vulnerable people across various parts of Myanmar received food, cash and nutrition assistance since the beginning of 2021. FLUID POPULATION MOVEMENT IN SHAN STATE: An estimated 4,000 people have reportedly been newly displaced in four townships in the southern and northern areas of Shan State during the reporting period due to armed clashes between the MAF and Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) and among EAOs. In Kyaukme Township in northern areas of Shan State, close to 2,000 people from eight village tracts had fled from their home due to clashes between the “Restoration Council of Shan State” and the alliance of the “Shan State Progress Party” with the “Ta’ang National Liberation Army”; a further 170 people in Man Yang Village Tract in Muse Township were displaced due to clashes between the MAF and the “Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army”. There have also been displacements in Kyethi and Mongkaing townships in southern areas of Shan State. Meanwhile, IDP returns in areas where the security situation improved continue to be reported. For example, in Kyethi Township, close to 4,200 IDPs were able to return to their villages of origin during the reporting period. There were small-scale returns in other townships during the reporting period. Since the beginning of 2021, about 20,000 people have managed to return out of more than 26,300 persons who have been internally displaced across 15 townships in Shan State..."
Source/publisher: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2021-08-27
Date of entry/update: 2021-08-28
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Description: "KEY DISPLACEMENT FIGURES 22,000 Estimated refugee movements to neighbouring countries since 1 February 2021 980,000 Refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar in neighbouring countries as of 31 December 2020 189,000 Estimated total internal displacement within Myanmar since 1 February 2021 370,000 Estimated internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Myanmar as of 31 December 2020 HIGHLIGHTS • Some 189,000 people remain internally displaced (IDPs) in Myanmar as of 16 August, due to armed conflict and unrest since 1 February 2021. This includes some 156,500 IDPs in Southeast Myanmar and Shan State (South). • In Southeast Myanmar, the security situation remains tense with increasing armed clashes across the Southeast. In the reporting period, armed clashes continued in Kachin/Shan (North) states. • In Chin State, the situation in Mindat and surrounding areas deteriorated, as fighting between the Chin Defence Forces (CDF) and Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) resumed in recent weeks. • The situation of internally displaced people within Myanmar has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, with close to 4,000 new cases and 400 official deaths reportedly registered each day. This makes the per capita death rate in Myanmar the highest in Southeast Asia. • IDP camps in Kachin State have registered a surge of COVID-19 cases and more people have tested positive in Kayah and Kayin states. Hundreds of positive cases are reported across Kachin State and Shan State (North) among the IDP population, where access to health services remains very limited. Disruptions of food supplies have led to food shortages in some IDP sites in Rakhine and Kayin states. • Seasonal floods continue to affect particularly the Southeast and thousands of people in Rakhine State. Heavy rains and flooding, combined with COVID-19 restrictions, continue to pose significant challenges for IDPs in the Southeast to access basic needs and health services. • In Thailand, no movements have been reported towards the Myanmar-Thai border in recent weeks, in part due to closed borders and movement restrictions related to measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2021-08-20
Date of entry/update: 2021-08-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: YANGON – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that its lifesaving operations in Myanmar are being held back by a major funding shortfall, with over 70 percent of its funding needs over the coming six months still unmet.
Description: "A massive wave of COVID-19 infections currently surging throughout the country is compounding hunger, as families struggle amid job losses, rising food and fuel prices, political unrest, violence and displacement. In April, WFP estimated that the number of people facing hunger could more than double to 6.2 million in the next six months, up from 2.8 million prior to February. Subsequent monitoring surveys carried out by WFP have shown that since February, more and more families are being pushed to the edge, struggling to put even the most basic food on the table. “We have seen hunger spreading further and deeper in Myanmar. Nearly 90 percent of households living in slum-like settlements around Yangon say they have to borrow money to buy food; incomes have been badly affected for many,” said WFP Myanmar Country Director Stephen Anderson. Starting in May, WFP launched a new urban food response, targeting 2 million people in Yangon and Mandalay, Myanmar’s two biggest cities. The majority of people to receive assistance are mothers, children, people with disabilities and the elderly. To date, 650,000 people have been assisted in urban areas. More than 220,000 people have fled violence since February, and are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. WFP has reached 17,500 newly-displaced people and is working to assist more in August. In total, 1.25 million people in Myanmar have received WFP food, cash and nutrition assistance in 2021 across urban and rural areas. However, with US$86 million more required over the next six months, it is uncertain how far these operations can go. “The people of Myanmar are facing their most difficult moment in living memory. It is critically important for us to be able to access to all those in need and receive the funding to provide them with humanitarian assistance,” Anderson explained. “Now more than ever, the people of Myanmar need our support. We are deeply grateful for the backing of the international community – the people of Myanmar will never forget your generosity and solidarity.,” said Anderson..."
Source/publisher: World Food Programme (Rome)
2021-08-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-08-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "KEY DISPLACEMENT FIGURES 22,000 Estimated refugee movements to neighbouring countries since 1 February 2021 980,000 Refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar in neighbouring countries as of 31 December 2020 206,000 Estimated total internal displacement within Myanmar since 1 February 2021 370,000 Estimated internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Myanmar as of 31 December 2020 HIGHLIGHTS The security situation across the country continues to be volatile and fluid, including in south-east Myanmar, Kachin/Shan (North), and Chin States. Some 206,000 people have been displaced internally in Myanmar as of end July, due to armed conflict and unrest since 1 February 2021. This includes some 170,000 IDPs in Southeast Myanmar and Shan (South). This total number of IDPs has remained steady since the last update. The situation of internally displaced people within Myanmar has been compounded by the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. Myanmar has reported record numbers of cases and deaths and is experiencing its most severe wave of infections so far. As a result, access restrictions have been introduced in many areas with, in some cases, IDPs and other communities going into self-imposed lockdowns. The humanitarian situation in Myanmar has been further exacerbated by heavy floods, particularly in the south-east of the country, at the end of July. There have been no significant movements of refugees in the reporting period, including into India and Thailand. Some 7,000 refugees crossed into Thailand in March and April, almost all of whom subsequently returned but remain displaced in Myanmar. There have been reports of groups continuing to gather in border areas on the Myanmar side close to Thailand, including opposite Thailand’s Mae Sariang, Khun Yuam and Mueng districts. The groups have not yet demonstrated an intention to cross. There are also continued reports of arrests, which have though decreased in July compared to June, of Myanmar nationals attempting to enter Thailand irregularly in the Kanchanaburi/Ratchaburi area. Thai authorities consider them “illegal migrant workers” for whom there is no systematic identification of people in need of international protection..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2021-08-04
Date of entry/update: 2021-08-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "In the sixth month since its forcible and unconstitutional power grab, the junta’s oppressive acts to secure political, territorial, or economic control have escalated conflict and the deadliness of a third wave of COVID-19. COVID-19 ripped ferociously through Burma, where a weakened health system and junta restrictions on treatment measures contributed to untold deaths. As the junta brought testing closer to pre-coup levels, it saw COVID-19 positivity rates up to 40%. During July alone, security forces killed at least 56 civilians. There were 348 violent attacks that either targeted or failed to protect civilians during 1–23 Jul, and a total 3,446 incidents 1 Feb–23 Jul..."
Source/publisher: Altsean Burma, Burma Human Rights Network, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, Initiatives for International Dialogue, International Federation for Human Rights, Progressive Voice, US Campaign for Burma, and Women Peace Network
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update: 2021-08-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Soldiers burned down two houses and destroyed several others with the help of thugs from the military-backed Pyu Saw Htee group
Description: "Over 1,000 people have fled a village in Magway Region’s Pauk Township after junta forces burnt down two homes there and raided or destroyed several others on Saturday when the administrator of a neighbouring village was killed, anti-regime guerilla fighters have said. Members of the military-controlled Pyu Saw Htee group helped soldiers torch the houses in Wun Chone during a rampage through the village, a spokesperson for the guerilla group told Myanmar Now. “They rampaged through the village and destroyed many shops as well as motorbikes,” he said, referring to testimony from five witnesses. “Many villagers have already fled, fearing they might come back.” Some fled to nearby woodlands while others sought refuge in surrounding villages. There is a group of soldiers stationed at Pin Taung village, which sits two miles northeast of Wun Chone. The military arrived in Wun Chone immediately after the administrator of Pin Taung was assassinated at around 7am. The soldiers clashed with guerilla fighters near Wun Chone before beginning their rampage. The guerillas’ spokesperson said none of the group’s fighters were killed in the clash and could not confirm if any of the junta’s forces were killed. He added that the group’s fighters shot and killed Hti Myo, the 30-year-old administrator, because he supported the junta, and had ordered villagers in Pin Taung not to offer assistance to residents of Kinma village when it was burnt down by the junta’s forces in June. Myanmar Now was unable to corroborate the allegations about the administrator. A Wun Chone resident said soldiers also destroyed furniture during their rampage: “I went back to check last night. The fires burned the affected houses’ upper floors and sides. The lower floors were intact since they’re made of brick. I took what I needed and came back because there was a risk of running into Pyu Saw Htee there.” Junta representatives could not be reached for comment. Last week soldiers raided Thar Aye village in neighbouring Sagaing Region, displacing around 3,000 villagers, after an alleged military informant was shot and killed on July 28. Around 10,000 civilians have been displaced by military attacks in the Sagaing townships of Kani, Yinmabin and Depayin since early July, according to local estimates..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update: 2021-08-02
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Description: "This regular update, covering humanitarian developments from 24 June to 27 July, is produced by OCHA Myanmar in collaboration with the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group and UNHCR and WHO. The next update will be issued towards the end of August 2021. HIGHLIGHTS • An estimated 170,200 people remain displaced in south-eastern parts of Myanmar due to violence, armed clashes and insecurity since 1 February. This includes around 121,400 people displaced in Kayah State and neighboring townships of southern areas of Shan State following an escalation of clashes since 21 May. • In Chin State, clashes continued in and around Mindat Township over the course of July and more than 18,100 persons remain internally displaced in over 100 sites in Chin State and in neighboring Magway and Sagaing regions. • In Shan State, population movement remains fluid, with new displacements and small-scale returns recorded during the reporting period. A total of 22,000 people have been displaced across north and southern parts of Shan State since the beginning of 2021; about 7,000 of them remain displaced across 33 temporary sites. • Continuous rains resulted in floods affecting several townships across Rakhine State and parts of south-eastern Myanmar. A number of fatalities have been reported and several thousand people were affected or displaced, according to initial reports. • An Interim Emergency Response Plan has been developed and seeks US$109 million to reach an additional 2 million people with prioritized emergency humanitarian response activities beyond the scope of the 2021. • More funds have been secured for humanitarian response in Myanmar and as of 29 July, 42 per cent of the US$276.5 million requested under the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) has been funded, according to the FTS. However, strengthened donor support is necessary to address the over 50 per cent funding gap. SITUATION OVERVIEW 3 MILLION PEOPLE NEED HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE IN MYANMAR: About 3 million people need humanitarian assistance and protection services across various parts of Myanmar. This includes about 1 million people living in conflict-affected areas in Chin, Kachin, Kayin, Mon, northern Shan and Rakhine identified at the start of 2021 in the HRP. An additional 2 million people are targeted for humanitarian assistance and protection services, as part of the recently developed Interim Emergency Response Plan. The Plan mainly focuses on people in urban and peri-urban areas in Yangon and Mandalay, as well as those displaced or otherwise affected in Chin and Kayin states since 1 February. The Plan will ensure a coordinated approach to respond to people’s food and nutrition needs, water, sanitation and hygiene, education, shelter, health and a wide range of protection services, such as Child Protection and prevention and response to Gender-Based Violence (GBV). The Plan will integrate COVID-19 related prevention and response in its programming. The Interim Emergency Response Plan aims to complement the existing HRP and ensures an operational planning framework for humanitarian partners to coordinate response. The Plan identifies an additional US$109 million in emergency humanitarian programming to be implemented until the end of 2021. These requirements are in addition to the $276.5 million requested through the 2021 HRP. As of 30 July, US$7.8 million has been received against the total requirements under the Interim Plan, which represents 7 per cent of funding. FLUID POPULATION MOVEMENT IN THE SOUTHEAST: The security situation in south-eastern Myanmar remains tense, with sporadic clashes between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) or the “People’s Defense Forces” (“PDFs”) reported in Kayah, Kayin and Mon states and eastern Bago and Tanintharyi regions. In Kayah State, about 5,000 people from 11 villages in Loilen Lay Town in eastern part of Loikaw Township have been displaced on 12 July, following clashes between the MAF and the “Karenni Nationalities Defense Force”, a coalition of the “Karenni Army” and the “PDFs”. UNHCR estimates that about 170,200 persons have been internally displaced since 1 February in south-eastern Myanmar. This includes some 121,400 displaced in Kayah and southern areas of Shan states (Hsihseng and Pekon townships), about 47,700 in Kayin State, including 7,000 people who had returned after having fled to Thailand between April and May but who remain internally displaced, and a further 1,100 in Mon State. According to public sources, 69 civilians have been killed, about 160 houses and 8 churches destroyed in Kayah and southern areas of Shan states due to the hostilities that have erupted in May. Details of these incidents could not be verified due to access challenges and security concerns. The humanitarian situation in the area remains dire, as the majority of displaced populations, who are unable to return due to ongoing hostilities, continue to experience significant challenges in accessing basic needs due to various constraints, including limited humanitarian access. Humanitarian partners continue to make efforts to provide food, non-food-items, medical assistance and shelter materials as well as protection services to the newly displaced and otherwise vulnerable populations. In tandem with increasing needs, humanitarian organizations, are mobilizing funds and finalizing a contingency plan to respond to the emerging situation in the area. Critical needs for food, medicines and shelter have been reported, while a wide range of protection services and other humanitarian needs of affected communities – especially children, women and elderly persons – remain to be fully addressed. OVER 18,000 PEOPLE REMAIN DISPLACED IN CHIN STATE: The security situation in Chin State and neighbouring two regions remains unpredictable, as hostilities between the MAF and the “PDFs” picked up again in several townships. Intermittent clashes have been reported in Mindat in Chin State as well as in Saw in Magway and Kale and Tamu townships in Sagaing regions throughout July. Increased deployment of troops and continued road blockages and checkpoints have been reported in and around Mindat Township with the temporary ceasefire between the “Chinland Defense Force-Mindat” and the MAF not extended beyond 14 July. In Magway Region, several rounds of artillery were reported in Saw Township on 15 July. In Sagaing Region, clashes in several villages in Kale and Tamu townships in mid-July resulted in a reported number of civilian casualties. As of 19 July, more than 18,100 persons remain internally displaced in over 100 displacement sites in Chin, Magway and Sagaing. Most of the displaced persons are in four townships in Chin State, where they have been displaced since mid-May. This displacement is in addition to some 9,850 people who remain displaced across 27 sites in Paletwa Township in Chin State due to the earlier conflict between the MAF and the “Arakan Army”. Access to affected areas remains substantially constrained, although two partners were able to deliver essential assistance to the people in need in certain locations in Mindat Township, including food items for two weeks, medicines, surgical masks and hand sanitizers targeting about 2,000 people. A UN agency also distributed non-food items, including tarpaulins, mosquito nets, mats, blankets, kitchen sets, solar lamps and protective medical equipment in Mindat. RECURRENT POPULATION MOVEMENT IN NORTH AND SOUTHERN SHAN: Armed clashes between the MAF and EAOs and among EAOs in north and southern areas of Shan State continued between late June and mid-July. On 30 June, some 860 persons from 11 villages in Kyaukme Township in northern Shan were displaced following a series of clashes between the “Restoration Council of Shan State” (RCSS) and the allied forces of the “Shan State Progress Party” (SSPP) and the “Ta’ang National Liberation Army”. In Muse Township, more than 400 people in Man Yang Village Tract fled their home on 6 July due to armed clashes between the MAF and the “Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army”; the displaced families were able to return only on 17 July. In Hsipaw Township, about 300 persons from two villages fled their home on 16 July due to clashes between the RCSS and the SSPP. In southern areas of Shan State, partners confirmed the displacement of over 2,900 persons in Kyethi and Mongkaing in mid-July. As of 22 July, some 7,000, out of the 22,479 persons who have been displaced across 14 townships in Shan State, remain displaced across 33 temporary sites in Kyethi and Mongkaing townships in the south and in Hsipaw, Kyaukme and Kunlong townships in northern parts of Shan State. Humanitarian partners and local communities are complementing locally led responses to the newly displaced persons through the provision of food and non-food; however, displaced people remain in need of food, mosquito nets, blankets and COVID-19 prevention related support. FLOODS AFFECT TOWNSHIPS IN RAKHINE STATE AND PARTS OF SOUTH-EAST: Continuous monsoon rains caused flooding in lowland areas in Rakhine State and certain parts of south-eastern Myanmar, including Kayin and Mon states and Tanintharyi Region. Initial reports indicated that some 3,000 people have reportedly been affected, with 100 households evacuated from their homes in Hlaingbwe Township in Kayin State. In addition, more than 1,400 people in several wards in Myawaddy Town in Kayin State were evacuated to 10 relief camps on 26 July and received rice assistance from local communities and structures. Additional people, whose exact number could not be ascertained, have also been affected in several townships in Mon State, including in Mawlamyine and Ye. In Rakhine, initial reports indicated that Kalar Chaung Monastery displacement site, hosting about 1,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Mrauk-U Township has been flooded on 25 July. This has affected approximately 24 out of 142 shelters within the displacement site. In Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships, over 600 households in several villages have been affected, while roads connecting communities have been blocked and power supply disrupted in Thandwe Township since 26 July; water levels on the roads have reached up to nine feet. Some 200 households in the township’s affected areas have been evacuated to safer locations by local volunteers; they are expected to return to their places of origin soon. In Kyaukpyu Township, Kyauk Ta Lone IDP camp, at least 27 families have had their temporary shelter damaged, and dozens of sanitation facilities damaged or destroyed due to the floods. The affected people are taking refuge in the higher sections of the camp, hosted by relatives. Operational partners are currently collaborating with local aid groups and volunteers to better understand the situation and collect information on people’s needs. According to multiple sources, many people in affected locations and other areas where precipitation had been forecasted need support with evacuation. Those who have been evacuated or otherwise affected by floods require assistance in food, emergency shelter, health care and medical supplies, according to initial reports. Local volunteers have managed to evacuate the affected people and have provided initial assistance in terms of food and WASH as well as some COVID-19 awareness raising activities. The response, however, is likely to be impacted by access limitations, including those related to the current COVID-19 prevention measures. COVID-19: Available figures suggest that COVID-19 testing is taking place in States and Regions from both the public and private sectors, with the variants Alpha, Delta, and Kappa identified across the country, according to a report from 15 June, but not the extent to which any single variant dominates infections. Current figures show that the Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) cases have rapidly accelerated, as has the demand for hospitalization. Because the data is limited, it is not possible to confirm how these figures reflect the real situation, but it indicates a rapidly increasing number of infections in the country. From 1-28 July, a total of 126,822 cases were reported from 382,125 tests with a test positive ratio of 33.18 per cent; daily test positive ratio is reaching 40 per cent. A total of 4,876 deaths attributed to COVID-19 were reported during the same period, with Bago, Yangon and Sagaing regions heavily affected. A stay-at-home order have been imposed in over 80 townships across the country, and public holidays in July have been extended in an attempt to reduce the movement of people. This situation is unfolding in a context where access to health facilities is extremely limited. Partners are working to re-operationalize testing and surveillance activities, while COVID-19 treatment centres are being established with available resources and capacities. The full operationalizing of clinical management of cases is planned as soon as possible..."
Source/publisher: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update: 2021-07-30
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Sub-title: UNHCR is partnering with local communities and faith groups to help an estimated 200,000 people driven from their homes by fresh violence since February’s military takeover.
Description: "Armed conflict is sadly nothing new for 27-year-old Nway Nway Htay. An ethnic Rakhine woman originally from Myanmar’s western Rakhine State, she became familiar with the sounds of artillery and gunfire as the Myanmar Armed Forces, locally known as the Tatmadaw, battled ethnic armed groups in her native state. Security was something she constantly worried about. “I may be used to the sound of gunshots, but the fear is always there,” she said. “Last year, I came back to Rakhine to give birth when fighting erupted near the hospital. The explosions made the process even more stressful.” Following the birth of her son, Nway Nway Htay returned to Kachin State, a mountainous region wedged between India and China, where she had been living with her ethnic Kachin husband for two years. There, the couple worked the land along with a small group of villagers, growing oranges as cash crops in Injangyang Township to support themselves. Nway Nway Htay’s move to a rural corner of Myanmar’s northernmost state in 2019 was made in the hopes of living a more peaceful life. While also embroiled in its own ethnic armed conflict, prospects for peace in Kachin State had been improving. Negotiations between the Tatmadaw and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) were making headway. Major hostilities ceased in late 2018, while smaller-scale skirmishes had largely subsided by the end of 2020. “I may be used to the sound of gunshots, but the fear is always there.” That all changed in 2021. Following a military takeover on 1 February, Myanmar was plunged into a crisis that saw the spread and intensification of fighting in many areas. Violence resurfaced once again in Kachin State, including frequent heavy clashes and airstrikes. Nway Nway Htay is one of an estimated 200,000 people across the country forced to flee their homes by the upsurge of armed conflict. One sunny day in mid-March, she was at home with her son when the sound of gunshots echoed between the hills. Having experienced similar incidents before in Rakhine State, Nway Nway Htay’s first instinct was to stay inside the safety of her home. Moments later, her husband burst through the door saying they had to leave. The fighting was getting closer. By the time Nway Nway Htay stepped outside, the village had emptied and they were the last to leave. Her anxiety grew as they fled. “The Tatmadaw and KIA were constantly firing at each other and a soldier we encountered warned us of landmines in the area. Each step we took filled me with dread,” she recalled. The family eventually reached the banks of the Malikha River where a boat transported them to a nearby safe zone. There, they hid with other villagers for five days before making their way by motorbike to the Kachin State capital, Myitkyina. With little more than what they could carry on their backs, the family called on a relative who took them in. Seeking the assistance of relatives is often the preferred choice for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Myanmar, a country with a strong tradition of extended family support and community solidarity. Religious affiliation often also determines how assistance is sought. Buddhists prefer to approach Buddhist charities and shelter at monasteries while Christians often receive assistance from Christian organizations and seek refuge at church compounds. Host families and communities therefore act as crucial first responders, offering material assistance such as shelter and food as well as psychological support in the form of emotional and spiritual security. In Nway Nway Htay’s case, her husband’s religious affiliation as a Baptist led to the family seeking assistance from the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC). The ethnic Kachin are predominantly Christian and faith-based organizations like KBC play a prominent role in supporting IDPs within Kachin State. Many facilitate the day to day running of IDP camps and mobilize resources to support new arrivals. “We have to find them so that no one is left behind.” “These organizations spearhead humanitarian responses and our role is to reinforce their capacity, introduce best practices and complement their interventions,” explained Cliff Alvarico, UNHCR’s Head of Office in Myitkyina. Since 2012, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has been helping KBC and other faith-based organizations optimize resources to assist displaced populations and ensure a swift response. “We also ensure that those who stay outside of IDP camps remain on our radar and receive the same level of assistance as those inside,” he added. “Wherever they are, we have to find them so that no one is left behind.” The focus on assisting IDPs outside of camps is particularly pertinent in Kachin State. Many existing camps in urban centres face space constraints as they already host thousands of IDPs displaced up to a decade before the recent resurgence of armed conflict. New arrivals have therefore on occasion been asked to seek temporary accommodation elsewhere. “Restarting will not be easy.” Though hosted by a relative, Nway Nway Htay and her family are entitled to the same level of assistance as those living in camps. UNHCR ensures this by having them registered as members of a nearby IDP camp. A coalition of humanitarian agencies provide food and other support to the population on a regular basis. For its part, UNHCR distributes domestic items such as blankets, sleeping mats and mosquito nets to new arrivals as well as the rest of the registered population. While relieved that her immediate material needs have been taken care of, Nway Nway Htay is worried about what lies ahead. Four months after their arrival in Myitkyina, the family has been unable to return to their village due to continued insecurity. Finances remain tight as they seek alternative means to make ends meet. “My husband has left to work at a mine. It’s not a stable job and when fighting occurs nearby, he has to stop work and flee,” she said. “Restarting will not be easy. We’ve already lost one harvest and have to wait until the rainy season ends.” Nway Nway Htay’s focus in the meantime remains on caring for her child. “My priority is my son. I want him to be strong and healthy before we return in case we ever have to run again.”..."
Source/publisher: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva)
2021-07-23
Date of entry/update: 2021-07-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The MIMU 3W gathers inputs from participating humanitarian and development agencies on Who is doing What, Where, across Myanmar. It is normally conducted every 6 months and provides information on agencies’ activities at various levels (village/village tract/township, and IDPs camps). Given the changing situation, there has been a 9 month gap since the last 3W round documenting agencies activities as of August 28th 2020. In total, 159 agencies participated in the May 2021 3W, providing information on their humanitarian and development activities across 22 sectors and 157 sub-sectors as defined by technical/sector working groups. 3W reporting is quite comprehensive for projects of INGO, UN and Red Cross agencies, but there is under-reporting of activities for local NGOs and CBOs, since not all are participating. This indicates 54 less agencies reporting than in the last MIMU 3W in August 2020, possibly due to the pressures of the COVID pandemic and/or uncertainty re the situation for agencies’ activities countrywide. Note that Agencies must report to a sufficiently detailed level (village or camp level) for their work to be reflected fully in the MIMU 3W products. This Overview describes projects under implementation in Kachin as of May 31, 2021. Further information on planned and recently completed projects is available from the 3W dataset, which can be requested by 3W Partners. Projects under implementation can also be viewed on our interactive dashboards - 3W Township Dashboard and 3W Village Tract Dashboard..."
Source/publisher: Myanmar Information Management Unit
2021-07-22
Date of entry/update: 2021-07-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "HUMANITARIAN NEEDS COUNTRYWIDE: A total of 3 million people are targeted for humanitarian assistance and protection services across various parts of the country. This includes 1 million people in need in conflict-affected areas previously identified and a further 2 million people identified since 1 February. The additional caseload of 2 million people includes families in urban and peri-urban townships in Yangon and Mandalay, which have seen dramatic increase in humanitarian needs, as well as people newly displaced in conflict-affected areas since 1 February. An additional US$109 million is requested to address the new needs and complement the existing Humanitarian Response Plan, which seeks $276.5 million in funding.....DISPLACEMENT IN THE SOUTH-EAST: The security situation in southeastern Myanmar remains volatile, with sporadic clashes reported between the MAF and “People’s Defense Forces (PDF)” in Kayah and Mon states, marking an increase in hostilities in recent weeks. UNHCR estimates around 170,100 people have been internally displaced in southeastern Myanmar due to violence, insecurity and clashes between the MAF, EAOs and “PDF” since 1 February. This includes 121,400 people displaced in Kayah and neighboring townships in southern Shan since late May, a further 47,600 people displaced in Kayin with another 1,100 displaced in Mon states since 1 February.....DISPLACEMENT IN KACHIN AND SHAN: The security situation in Kachin and Shan states remains volatile, with clashes reported between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) or among the EAOs on a regular basis. In Kachin, around 11,510 people have been internally displaced since the resurgence of hostilities between the MAF and the “Kachin Independence Army” in mid-March 2021. Over 7,800 of them remain displaced in eight townships. Around 6,900 people were newly displaced due to various clashes in north and southern areas of Shan State over the course of June. In total, 22,156 people have been internally displaced across Shan State since the start of 2021; about 7,500 people remain displaced in six townships....DISPLACEMENT IN CHIN, CASUALTIES IN RAKHINE: The security situation remains volatile in Chin State with intermittent clashes between the MAF and “PDF” reported in several townships in Chin State, as well as in neighboring Pauk and Saw townships in Magway Region. About 16,300 people are currently hosted in over 100 displacement sites in five townships in Chin State since May and in Saw Township in Magway and Kale Township in Sagaing regions since June. Meanwhile, almost 9,850 people, displaced by the MAF-Arakan Army conflict, remain in Paletwa Township, Chin State. In Rakhine, two civilians in Ann Township sustained injuries from a landmine explosion on 10 July. According to UNICEF, 38 civilians have been killed or injured by landmines in Rakhine State in the first five months of 2021, which represents 37 per cent of the total casualties countrywide during this period..."
Source/publisher: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2021-07-16
Date of entry/update: 2021-07-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: 2020 IN REVIEW MYANMAR HUMANITARIAN FUND AT A GLANCE
Description: "2020 IN REVIEW MYANMAR HUMANITARIAN FUND AT A GLANCE HUMANITARIAN CONTEXT Humanitarian situation in 2020 The humanitarian situation in Myanmar remained complex over the reporting period. By the end of 2020, the active conflict in Rakhine and parts of Chin states resulted in a cumulative displacement of over 97,000 people in 194 sites. Despite an absence of largescale clashes in Kachin State since mid-2018, close to 96,000 people remained in displacement sites set up after fighting broke out in 2011, of whom roughly 40,000 were in areas controlled by non-state armed actors. The volatile security situation in northern Shan also continued to drive small-scale short-term displacement, with over 8,700 people temporarily displaced over the course of the year. In parts of Kayin State and Bago Region in the southeast, military operations generated additional internal displacement from December, with latest reports indicating up to 5,300 people displaced due the clashes. According to the 2021 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO), by the end of 2020, more than one million people in Myanmar were in need of some form of humanitarian aid, due to armed conflict, vulnerability to natural hazards, inter-communal tensions or other factors. COVID-19 pandemic The outbreak of COVID-19 and subsequent control measures established by the Government created additional challenges in humanitarian settings across the country, and increased the humanitarian caseload, due to urgent humanitarian needs of returning migrants. The rapid increase in locally transmitted COVID-19 cases across the country from mid-August 2020 has further complicated an already challenging humanitarian situation, with Rakhine State emerging as a key epicenter, in addition to Yangon Region, which has seen the largest number of cases. The Government has also put in place strict measures on international and domestic travel and cumbersome processes to obtain visas and entry permits. People in need Some 336,000 displaced people (of whom 29 per cent are women, 20 per cent are girls and 21 per cent are boys) remain in camps or displacement sites in Kachin, northern Shan, Rakhine, southern Chin, eastern Bago and Kayin. In addition, an estimated 470,000 non-displaced stateless persons in Rakhine remain in need of various forms of humanitarian support due to significantly reduced access to livelihoods and critical services including education and healthcare caused by movement restrictions, inter-communal tensions and other factors. Other vulnerable persons are the members of host communities, other conflict-affected populations, and persons in the process of pursuing durable solutions to internal displacement. Severity of needs While the drivers and underlying factors triggering humanitarian needs have had an impact on all crisis-affected people to varying degrees in Kachin, northern Shan, Rakhine, southern Chin, Kayin and eastern Bago states, specific population groups and locations have been more severely affected than others and this has been factored into the needs analysis process and consequent humanitarian response. Among the four population groups, internally displaced and stateless persons (in Rakhine) are in general experiencing the highest levels of inter-sectoral needs, with women, girls and other at-risk population groups being disproportionately affected within these categories. There is also a strong correlation between severity of need and levels of armed conflict. Security and access constraints The humanitarian crisis was further compounded by the insecure operating environment. A combination of access related constraints continued to impede the ability of humanitarian partners to reach people in need in a timely manner. Following global trends for the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government established strict measures resulting in an extended disruption of humanitarian assistance in Rakhine State in particular. This is in addition to the pre-existing humanitarian access challenges, which remained largely in place, including due to security risks, bureaucratic impediments, blanket bans on eight townships in Rakhine over the course of the year, in addition to continued challenges with access to mobile Internet data in eight townships in Rakhine and Paletwa of Chin states..."
Source/publisher: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2021-07-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-07-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: The role of transnational activism in promoting political reform
Description: "Introduction: On a remote stretch of the Salween River, between the proposed Dar Gwin and Wei Gyi hydropower dam sites and where it forms the border between Thailand and Myanmar (Burma), 1 sits the Ei Tu Hta camp for ethnic Karen internally displaced peoples (IDPs) in Karen National Union (KNU) controlled Myanmar. The family of Hsiplopo, the leader of this camp, live three hours walk away but he is unable to visit them because the tatmadaw, the Myanmar military with which the KNU has been engaged in the world's longest running civil war, have camps that are only two hours walk away. The camp is also built on steep hillsides, denuding the forest cover in the limited area available, and is unable to grow its own rice, relying instead on regular donations from the UN and other NGOs shipped upriver by longtail boat. 2 This type of human and environmental insecurity colours the daily existence of both the Karen people in this camp and many other ethnic minorities in Myanmar. Nevertheless, despite these conditions, Hsiplopo's commitment to a campaign against the proposed nearby dams is resolute: 'We don't want dams ... the military cannot build the dams because the KNU will not let them while the people do not want them.' 3 This stance reflects the opposition to the dams of many environmental activists and groups who inhabit the nebulous and dangerous borderlands regions of eastern Myanmar. It also represents a form of activated citizenship although the concept of citizenship for ethnic minorities in Myanmar is itself problematic as their relationship to the Myanmar state is often little more than one of oppression and conflict. Despite the civil conflict in these areas, and perhaps because of it, these activists often operate beyond the remit of the tatmadaw undertaking perilous work with the KNU to promote human and environmental security for ethnic minorities. As an activist from the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) explains: 'KESAN's programs are in the KNU area [in Myanmar] so we have a close relationship with the KNU leaders. ' 4 It can be difficult for environmental activists in the North, for whom this precarious existence is entirely foreign, to fully comprehend the existential struggle that dictates much environmental activism in the South, particularly under authoritarian regimes such as that of Myanmar, which has been dominated by the military since 1962. As a result, many Northern environment movements, and the American environment movement in particular, have been historically apolitical with the issues of 'human health, shelter, and food security' traditionally absent from their agendas (Doyle 2005, 26). This lack of political analysis on the issues of central importance to survival in the South and the movements they spawn is also reflected within many academic writings on environmental politics. Despite an increased focus on the environment in the last two decades, most approaches to environmental politics still examine predominantly ecological issues or regulatory regimes and focus particularly on the affluent states of the North (Howes 2005; Kutting 2000; Paehlke and Torgerson 2005). Although there has been increased attention on environmental movements in recent years, much of the material also focuses primarily on movements within the North (Carter 2007; Doherty 2002; Doyle 2000; Dryzek et al. 2003; Gottlieb 2005; Hutton and Connors 1999; Rootes 2007; Sandler and Pezzullo 2007; Shabecoff 1993). There has been some analysis of environn1ent movements in the South (Doherty 2006; Doherty and Doyle 2006; Doyle 2005; Duffy 2006; Dwivedi 1997, 2001 ), and various studies of transnational activism more generally ( della P01ta et al. 2006; Eschle and Maiguashca 2005; Keck and Sikkink 1998; Reitan 2007; Routledge et al. 2006; Rupert 2000), but only limited studies on how authoritarianism in the South specifically impacts on enviromnental activism (Doyle and Simpson 2006) or policy (Fredriksson and Wollscheid 2007). There are numerous studies that examine civil society under authoritarianism more broadly but these tend to focus on more traditional and formalised civil society organisations (Jamal 2007; Liverani 2008; Sater 2007). This chapter adds to this literature by delving more deeply into enviromnental politics under the military in Myanmar and examines the transnational campaigns against several proposed hydroelectric dams on the Salween River in eastern Myanmar. As transnational projects these dams are being undertaken by governments and transnational corporations (TNCs) but, as with most large energy projects in Myamnar, they are designed to export most of their electricity to either Thailand or China. Despite national elections in November 2010 that returned Myanmar to nominally civilian rule the 2008 constitution, on which the elections were based, provides for a continuing central role for the military in the country's governance (Holliday 2008). Although the election process was flawed, fraudulent and tightly controlled, with many generals from the former military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), 5 merely stepping out of their uniforms to take up senior positions in the new government, there is little doubt that incremental change towards civilian rule is occurring and the potential for political discourse in Myamnar may well in1prove over time. While many exiled or human rights groups rightly point out that civil conflict and human rights abuses, particularly in the eastern border regions, continue,6 some analysts, such as the former International Labour Organization (ILO) Liaison Officer in Myanmar, Richard Horsey, are more optimistic about the 'new level of scrutiny' (Horsey 2011, 4) that has accompanied the new parliament. The current Liaison Officer, Steve Marshall, who is possibly more intimately involved with the new government than any other W estemer likewise argues that 'there is no doubt that the political landscape has changed' . 7 This top down political change has accompanied a less visible but nonetheless significant increase in domestic civil society activism in recent years and particularly since Cyclone Nargis in 2008 (Sabandar 2010; South 2004). The main beneficiaries of this opening have been humanitarian NGOs that have focused on emergency relief to natural disasters such as Nargis and Cyclone Giri in 2010, 8 but there has also been increased activity by environmental groups and NGOs. These groups, as with all those actors who wish to avoid sanction or imprisonment in Myanmar, engage in a certain amount of self-censorship to avoid overtly political critiques of the government but there is increasing space available for pursuing third sector environmental governance. This increased domestic activism has improved the prospects of collaboration between domestic and exiled groups with prominent domestic environmentalists running trainings on the border or in Thailand for exiled groups such as KESAN. 9 Regardless of recent changes, however, after five decades of authoritarian rule the local environmental movement remains embtyonic with significant limitations in experience and expertise. It has, therefore, been the transnational environment movement occupying Myanmar's borderlands that has provided the most fertile and important outlet for environmental activism and governance of large-scale hydropower projects in Myanmar. 10 This case study therefore suggests that, whereas hybrid regimes offer domestic spaces for political competition and therefore foster domestic civil society (Diamond 2002; Jayasuriya and Rodan 2007; Levitsky and Way 2002), traditional authoritarian regimes such as that which has afflicted Myanmar are more likely to create an activist diaspora, a dynamic transnational community of expatriates who engage in environmental activism in borderland regions or neighbouring countries. As this case study demonstrates, an activist diaspora tends to transcend ethnic divisions and therefore provides a multi-ethnic cohesion which is often absent from the broader exile community. As 'divide and conquer' has been one of the tatmadaw's main strategies in neutralising opposition by ethnic minorities, Myanmar's activist diaspora may contribute to more potent domestic social movements that promote democracy, human rights and environmental security in Myanmar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Adam Simpson
2013-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2021-07-05
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Description: "22,000 Estimated refugee movements to neighbouring countries since 1 February 2021 980,000 Refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar in neighbouring countries as of 31 December 2020 211,000 Estimated total internal displacement within Myanmar since 1 February 2021 370,000 Estimated internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Myanmar as of 31 December 2020 HIGHLIGHTS Approximately 211,000 people have now been displaced internally in Myanmar since 1 February 2021, a more than 20% increase since one month ago. This includes 176,900 IDPs in Southeast Myanmar and Shan (South). Although recent weeks have seen a decrease in violence in some parts of the country, such as Kachin State and Chin State, the security situation remains volatile, with continued armed clashes, rocket fire, shelling, raids and new military deployments, particularly in southeast Myanmar. Ceasefires between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and local defence groups in Kayah State and Chin State have allowed some IDPs to return to their homes, but many remain hiding in forest areas and are in dire need of shelter, sleeping mats and medical supplies. Heavy monsoon rains in June have heightened these needs, while the recent increase in COVID-19 transmission—and resulting travel restrictions—has further hampered already limited humanitarian access. Despite the continuing violence in Myanmar, no significant movements of refugees have been reported to neighbouring countries in the last two weeks..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
2021-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2021-07-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "CONTENTS: 2 Trials for NLD leaders 2 NUG and CRPH 5 COVID-19 surge 5 Conflict and displacement 6 Ceasefires 6 Displacement 7 Fighting by region 9 Protests and violent crackdowns 12 Resistance bites 12 Women continue to lead, and to suffer disproportionately 13 International reactions, sanctions 15 ASEAN engagement 15 ASEAN-China meeting 17 UN General Assembly 17 G7 Summit 17 Effects on foreign business 18 Foreign links identified 18 Economy continues to sink 19 Junta continues to enrich itself.....Junta seeks to bolster coup narrative: Since April, the junta has published at least three propaganda books that omitted its killing of over 800 pro-democracy protesters. The books focused on the myth that the military had to take over due to widespread electoral fraud by the NLD in the 2020 elections. According to the books’ prefaces: “Although Myanmar’s democracy foundation shaped by the Tatmadaw since 1988 is making certain progress, the democratic journey is delayed by voter-list errors and poor transparency in the 2020 election and the failure to handle the Tatmadaw’s statements on the election.” On 10 June, the Ministry of Information reported that the junta’s Union Election Commission had found evidence of electoral fraud by the NLD after examining the voter lists and voting conditions in 49 townships in Shan State. It declared that NLD candidates violated the Hluttaw Election Law, as well as COVID-19 prevention and control guidelines during the campaign and on polling day. The Commission added that the NLD had “arranged to seize power in advance”, and concluded that the election was not free and fair. This was one in a months-long series of examinations by location since February. During the ASEAN-Russian Federation Summit on Security on 28 June, junta representative Lt-Gen Yar Pyae said that electoral fraud by the NLD had led to a loss of trust in democracy and the election system. He claimed that the Tatmadaw had no choice but to take power to maintain stability. Yar Pyae also accused the NLD of banning “the rights of democracy, including media freedom” during its first term in office, and blamed the kyat’s drop in value and increased commodity prices on their “wrong” economic policies. Irrawaddy (24 Jun 2021) Myanmar Junta Propaganda Books Hope to Rewrite History; SAC (10 Jun 2021) Announcement of Union Election Commission; SAC (29 Jun 2021) Union Minister Lt-Gen Yar Pyae joins virtual ASEAN-Russian Federation Summit on Security Affairs.....Junta’s “perfect information”: In light of widespread condemnation by independent media, the NUG, and foreign governments, the junta sought to dispute the facts about its military actions. On 7 June, it denied that its troops initiated a 5 June shootout with villagers armed with homemade guns in Kyonpyaw Township (Ayeyarwady Region). This contradicted news reports that the Tatmadaw fired first. The junta also alleged that three villagers were killed, compared to 20 in other sources. On 19 June, it criticized CNN and Reuters for their “wrong news without media ethics” after they reported, on 17 June, that junta forces had burned down 80% of homes in Kinma Village, Pauk Township (Magway Region). It alleged that a local PDF and insurgents from Chin State set fire to the house of a USDP member during a clash with security forces on June 15, leading to more fires. Also on 19 June, it published a press release on the incident, accusing the CRPH, NUG, PDF, extremist NLD members and followers of spreading rumours on social networks to cause instability. On 20 June, it alleged that the PDF had deliberately set fire to Kinma to raise funds through Facebook donations, tarnish the image of the government, and draw international condemnation. On 21 June, the (reconstituted) Myanmar Press Council released a statement that unlicensed local media outlets, international news agencies, and foreign embassies had spread fake news regarding the events in Kinma to help international organizations interfere with the country’s internal affairs. It said it would not be responsible for further disputes that occur if media workers contact and provide information to news outlets whose licenses were revoked by the junta. The next day, the junta said official news media had already provided “the perfect information” and urged news agencies to follow international media ethics. SAC (7 Jun 2021) Exaggeration of media on attack in Ayeyawady Region; Myanmar Now (5 Jun 2021) Junta troops kill three civilians in shootout over arrest of local villager; Guardian (6 Jun 2021) Myanmar junta forces reportedly kill 20 civilians in fresh clashes; SAC (19 Jun 2021) CNN, Reuters news agencies presenting news without media ethics need to post correct news; SAC (19 Jun 2021) Public information released not to believe fake and false news on social networks; SAC (20 Jun 2021) Statement strongly condemns media outlets and organizations spreading false information on Kinma fire case; SAC (22 Jun 2021) Media council releases statement urging to follow journalism ethics; SAC (26 Jun 2021) Myanmar Press Council – Announcement 5/2021.....Latest information control measure: whitelists: In June, internet providers in Burma confirmed that the junta plans to allow access only to approved (“whitelisted”) websites/platforms, whereas before the internet was open except for blacklisted sites. From February, the junta instructed internet providers to ban platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and continued to add other websites, often via twice-weekly directives. A senior official at Burma telecommunications company MPT said the junta gave the company hundreds of thousands of IP addresses to blacklist, including news websites. For nearly 50 days, there were only around 500,000 internet connections in a country of 54 million. Website/platform bans and internet blackouts disrupted even the most basic functions of the banking, education, transportation, and healthcare sectors. The junta restored access to the internet over mobile data in May. Popular websites and platforms like Facebook and Twitter remain inaccessible without a VPN, but some mobile banking applications became usable again. An IT professional said that while the junta could not ban some Cloudflare VPNs, most VPNs could be shut down as whitelisting begins. All internet users in Burma will likely eventually be affected by whitelisting, but so far the whitelist only seems to be affecting mobile internet. The ministry has sent its lists of over 1,000 websites and applications to be whitelisted, and mandated that mobile operators and internet service providers follow the whitelist plan. MPT was also recently required to begin monitoring calls and the most frequently visited websites. Senior official said they could not view emails and chats, but were monitoring the highest traffic websites from local IP addresses. Frontier Myanmar (30 Jun 2021) Whitelisted internet takes Myanmar back to a ‘dark age’..."
Source/publisher: Altsean Burma, Burma Human Rights Network, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, Initiatives for International Dialogue, International Federation for Human Rights, Progressive Voice, US Campaign for Burma, and Women Peace Network
2021-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2021-07-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: A new brand of militant is throwing bombs, torching targets and killing junta officials in the name of restoring democracy
Description: "Five months after the military coup in Myanmar, resistance to the anti-democratic takeover is evolving and intensifying. In the old capital Yangon, groups of mostly young people appear for brief moments in the streets, shouting slogans and flashing the three-finger salute, the symbol of the pro-democratic struggle. They then disperse as quickly as they had appeared to avoid arrest. Upcountry, people are also showing their anger at Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s power grab, with most protests taking place in Mandalay, Sagaing and Tanintharyi Regions. Demonstrators from across the country have expressed solidarity with each other. When clashes occurred between protesters and security forces in urban areas in Mandalay in early June, people in Yangon staged a demonstration chanting “Stay strong Mandalay, we, Yangon will be with you.” More militant elements have taken to throwing low-grade bombs and grenades at government buildings on a near-daily basis, while police, suspected military informants and leading members of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party are being targeted for assassination. Moreover, a loose alliance of local resistance forces known as the People’s Defense Force (PDF) was formed in May in response to the coup. Officially, it is the armed wing of the National Unity Government (NUG), which is made up of MPs who were deposed in the February 1 coup and other anti-junta activists. The evident aim is to topple Min Aung Hlaing’s government by military means. Judging from what happened in February, when millions of people in virtually every city, town and major village across the country marched against the coup, it is plausible to assume the NUG and PDF may have widespread popular support and getting recruits would not be a major problem. But more than that will be needed in order to wage a successful armed struggle. The first would be access to weapons, then fall-back areas and, preferable, safe havens across the borders of a neighboring nation from where supplies could be sent to forces inside the country. It will also need money to sustain its activities. On the surface, the PDF doesn’t appear to have any of the above. According to a May 23 Myanmar-language NUG announcement, the PDF is made up of five divisions, each having at least three brigades. Each brigade consists of five battalions which, in turn, are divided into four companies, the announcement said. That sounds like a formidable military force but, in reality, it’s so far only on paper. Groups of urban dissidents have taken refuge in areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Karen National Union (KNU) ethnic armed organizations. Reports from inside sources indicate that the urban guerrilla warfare that Myanmar is now experiencing is an outcome of that alliance. Indeed, the well-planned attacks have been daring and dramatic. On June 18, for instance, an army truck with regime soldiers on board was blown up in Yangon’s Tamwe township. The Irrawaddy cited witnesses who said they saw soldiers on board the truck, which was parked outside an office of the USDP. The blast also occurred within walking distance of the township’s police station, the Irrawaddy reported. Both the KIA and elements of the KNU, which disagree with their leaders’ signing of an earlier, ineffectual Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), have since the coup also carried out widespread attacks in their areas of operation. The KIA in particular has hit Tatmadaw targets all over Kachin state. But elsewhere in Myanmar, armed resistance appears to have been launched by local groups which may or may not have any links to the NUG and the PDF. That is especially true in now restive Chin and Kayah states, parts of the country that have not seen any large-scale insurgency for decades. The PDF’s prospects look initially bleak. Decades of experience show that neither side in Myanmar’s many, mainly ethnicity-based civil wars can win solely by military means. The Myanmar military, known as the Tatmadaw, has been unable to defeat the rebels and none of the ethnic armed groups has had enough strength to force any central government to agree to their demands for self-rule or autonomy. The International Crisis Group sums it up as such in a June 28 report on Myanmar’s new emerging armed struggle: “The resistance has taken on an increasingly revolutionary character, with most dissidents no longer aiming for restoration of the status quo ante, but for the Tatmadaw’s disbandment and its replacement by a new armed force that is not dominated by the Burman ethnic majority.” That, the ICG concludes, would require the “Tatmadaw’s defeat or capitulation” – a remote possibility in today’s Myanmar. The most recent attempt at finding an alternative, political solution to the civil wars was made by Thein Sein, a former Tatmadaw general, shortly after his appointment as president in 2011. Talks between his government, the Tatmadaw and a variety of ethnic armed groups were held and resulted in eight of them signing the NCA in October 2015. The problem, however, was that only two of those groups — the KNU and the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) — had any armed forces to be reckoned with. The rest were tiny, largely irrelevant groups whose signatures were required to solidity the credibility of the NCA. None of the major groups, among them the KIA, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, the Arakan Army or the United Wa State Army (UWSA) which, along with their respective allies, represent more than 80% of all armed rebels in the country. The PDF will add to the Tatmadaw’s troubles. Unable to identify the new rebels, who unlike other ethnic insurgents are not dressed in uniforms with insignia showing the name of their army and their ranks, the Tatmadaw has resorted to firing indiscriminately into villages, causing widespread destruction of civilian homes and properties. As a result, an estimated 230,000 people have been displaced in Myanmar because of violence, fights and insecurity, according to a June 24 statement by Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. Myanmar’s “new rebels”, with or without collaboration with older, ethnic armies, may be able to inflict heavy casualties on the Tatmadaw. But even the older armies are facing similar problems as the new ones. In the past, Thailand’s grey weapons market was a treasure trove for any group looking for weapons, but, as relations between the Thai military and Tatmadaw have improved, that is no longer the case. Informed sources say they are struggling to keep even their own soldiers with guns and sufficient ammunition. And Myanmar’s largest and best-equipped ethnic armed group, the UWSA, has shown no interest in arming or even sheltering urban dissidents and other pro-democracy activists. That could be explained in the context of the UWSA’s close relationship with China’s security services on the other side of the border. While democratic countries all over the world have condemned the coup, China, along with Russia, have come out in support of Min Aung Hlaing’s junta. The future for Myanmar thus looks bleak, with only a split within the Tatmadaw likely able to bring about fundamental change. But there are no signs yet of that happening as Myanmar’s resistance shifts from peaceful protests to more violent means. The most the “new rebels”, alone or together with ethnic allies, may be able to achieve would be to disrupt its efforts to consolidate its grip on the country. In other words, Myanmar is back to square one in the history of its decades-long civil wars where neither side can win. That can only mean more suffering for the people with villages being torched and civilians killed — and refugees gathering in the jungles and mountains or trying to escape to neighboring countries. Myanmar will remain a source of instability in an otherwise relatively prosperous part of the world..."
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Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
2021-06-28
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-28
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Description: "The protests continued for the 10th week that protesters have used different methods to express their resistance towards the military coup such as “bleeding dye strike”, “marching shoes strike”, “flash strike” while the internet shutdown also continued at night time and all the wireless and broadband services were shut down since last week throughout the country. In Bago region, more than 80 protesters have been killed by the junta with use of heavy weapons on 9 April and the residents in Bago also fled their homes following the attacks. On the other hand, 19 people have been sentenced to death at courts under the martial law declared by the junta. There are a high number of Myanmar people displaced from their villages to ethnic army areas and Thai-Myanmar border. Currently, there are shortages of basic necessities, food, shelter, medicine in the displaced persons communities. UN’s special envoy for Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener has arrived in Thailand to start a tour in Asian countries to step up diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Myanmar. However, it was reported that Myanmar's military has turned down her request to visit Myanmar. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners 706 people have been killed by the junta as of 11 April and 3059 people are currently under detention, 64 are sentenced and 657 arrest warrants have been issued targeting pro-democracy activists, political party leaders, government officials, celebrities and social media influencers..."
Source/publisher: Asian Network for Free Elections (Bangkok)
2021-04-12
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-27
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Description: "One hundred days after the coup, the junta has pushed the region’s fastest-growing economy into an economic and humanitarian disaster. The World Bank forecast shows that Myanmar's economy is expected to contract by 10% in 2021, a sharp difference from the previous prediction of 5.9% growth in October 2020. There is a possible banking crisis which leads to cash shortages, limited access to social welfare payments and international remittances. Last week, Myanmar Kyat hit one of its lowest compared to the USD. The World Food Program also estimates that up to 3.4 million more people, particularly those in urban areas, will face hunger during the next six months. Price rises, hurting the poor and causing shortages of some essentials, including the costs of fuel and medicine. The junta called to reopen colleges, universities and schools soon but many students and educators are boycotting. As a result, around 13,000 staff had been suspended by May 8. The junta also announced job vacancies for educational positions to replace striking staff. Across Myanmar, the ordinary citizens have taken up any weapons available from air guns to traditional firearms and homemade bombs and arms have spread in Chin state, Sagaing, Magwe and Mandalay regions. Mindat township in Chin State reported more intensified fights between the civil resistance groups and the Myanmar military while clashes were reported in Myingyan township, Mandalay region and Tamu township, Sagaing region. According to our information, at least 43 bomb blasts happened across Myanmar in the past week and many of them were in Yangon’s townships. It was reported that two people died and at least 21 people were injured. Media reported the junta continued to conduct air strikes across the villages in Kachin, Kayin, and Shan states, leading to thousands of people fleeing their villages. The Ethnic Health Organizations (EHOs) called on the international community to provide direct support to the ethnic areas as international aid sent through central Myanmar was unable to reach EHOs. The media also reported that the IDPs in Momauk township, Kachin State are in desperate need for emergency support. CSOs based in Thai-Myanmar border called authorities to consider measures for refugees on humanitarian principles and make an effort to monitor, assess the situation closely while consistently upholding both national security and humanitarian principles. They also urge Thai authorities to assess the situation comprehensively based on correct information and reliable sources. A DVB reporter, Min Nyo was sentenced by a military court to three years in prison for his reporting. Three reporters from Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and two activists from Myanmar have been arrested in Thailand for illegal entry and face possible deportation. CSOs and foreign correspondents in Thailand urged the Thai authorities not to deport them back to Myanmar. Thai prime minister and Foreign Minister met with the UN special envoy on Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener to discuss the situation in Myanmar. The PM said he will not force those fleeing violence back to Myanmar. The National Unity Government also called for foreign countries to introduce and expand sanctions against the overseas relatives of Myanmar’s military council members. As of May 16, a total of 3,998 people are currently under detention and among 92 are sentenced. 1,679 have been issued arrest warrants. Twenty were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment. UEC member U Khin Maung Oo informed that there will be a coordination meeting with all the 91 political parties on 21 May and the main topic to discuss is about the use of the PR system. After the coup, the junta appointed UEC requested political parties to send the proposals on the PR system and some of the major parties such as NLD and SNLD rejected the proposal. World religious leaders are giving special attention to Myanmar, Pope Francis offered a special mass for the people of Myanmar on Sunday, 16 May 2021..."
Source/publisher: Asian Network for Free Elections (Bangkok)
2021-05-18
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-27
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Description: "The protests continued for the 12th week across the country despite the brutal crackdown. After a weeks-long absence, protesters returned to the streets in downtown Yangon ahead of the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting. The media also reported that more than 110 people, many of them student activists and youth protesters, were abducted by the junta. Some of the protest leaders’ houses were raided while some of them fled to avoid the arrests. The ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting was held on 24 April in Jakarta, Indonesia and was represented by junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing despite strong objection from the people of Myanmar and both local and international CSOs. The calls to invite the National Unity Government (NUG) to the meeting in order to address the issue of Myanmar were not fulfilled. The meeting ended with the issue of a “Five Points of Consensus”, which was criticised for not including the call for the release of political detainees in Myanmar. Deadly crackdowns on the protesters and the attacks on ethnic communities by the junta continued even during the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting. The World Bank forecast the Myanmar economy will decline by 10 percent this year due to the impact of the military coup. Around 200,000 workers in the garment industry have lost their jobs and nearly a third of the garment industry jobs have been wiped out with many other industries. The World Food Program (WFP) analysis also shows up to 3.4 million or more people will struggle to afford food in coming months with urban areas worst affected as job losses mount in manufacturing, construction and services and food prices are in rise. As air raids and the continuing fights between the Myanmar military led thousands of people to cross the border to Thailand and India. The humanitarian organizations also stressed the importance of unfettered access to everyone fleeing Myanmar to provide lifesaving aid and other services, including healthcare, food and water. There are nearly 250,000 displaced persons inside Myanmar or neighbouring countries like Thailand, India. However, there is no proper humanitarian assistance for these victims and it was discussed in many CSOs forums for immediate actions, specially from the Thai government, UN and other international relief groups. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners figures show that as of 25 April, 751 people are confirmed killed by this junta. 3,431 are currently under detention while 79 are sentenced. 1,159 arrest warrants have been issued. 20 were sentenced to death and 14 to three years imprisonment..."
Source/publisher: Asian Network for Free Elections (Bangkok)
2021-06-26
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-27
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